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Entries with GLOBE Science Topics Earth System Science .

I decided to have two controls for my experiment: plain water and sugar water. Since I am testing how mosquitoes react to flowers; specifically, the number of eggs I collect, I wanted to get more variant data by having plain water and sugar water. After the first week of my experiment, I saw that many ants infested the sugar water (as anticipated), however, I found more mosquito larvae in the...

For 4 weeks this summer, much like other Earth Explorer interns, I built a few mosquito traps and set them out near my home within my AOI. I’m located in sunny Plano, Texas, near a creek. To set up my traps, I first bought 4 large, 2 Liter soda bottles, drank a small bit, and emptied the rest out. I know we shouldn’t eat in the lab, but let’s just say the experiment started after the bottles...

For my experiment, I decided to test the effect of sunlight and different colored traps on number of mosquito larvae. I started my experiment by gathering six white buckets. I then painted two of them red and two of them blue. I also covered each bucket with a sealant.  After the buckets were prepared, I placed a white, red and blue bucket directly in the sunlight. The remaining three...

Introduction To follow along with NASA GLOBE’s mission to encourage public involvement in mosquito observation research, I decided to conduct a small experiment to determine preferred mosquito habitats. I’m writing this blog about my experience to encourage people to become citizen scientists as well and take part in the GLOBE Observer App’s mission [1]! Hypothesis Since mosquitos most...

Introduction California is home to 53 mosquito species, including many that serve as vectors for diseases like West Nile, Malaria, and Dengue. In my county of California, Santa Clara, mosquitoes from the genus Culex and Aedes are most common. For mosquitos to keep their population flourishing, female mosquitos lay eggs in stagnant containers of water. These eggs then go through the mosquito...

Purpose: My experiment aims to test whether: 1) Ovitraps or Safe Bottle Traps attract more mosquitoes   2) CO2 traps or CO2 under light at night attract more mosquitoes  Background: Studies have shown that mosquitoes can detect carbon dioxide and may move towards the area with an increase in carbon dioxide. In fact, pregnant women are a feast for mosquitoes! This is due to an...

My experiment is testing the effect various types of bait have Mosquito Habitation. My research consists of three five gallon buckets, all filled with equal amounts of water and placed under shade. Each of my buckets has a different type of bait (dirt, leaves, and wood chips). Each week I take out any larvae I see and refill the traps to the 9 inch mark (to keep the water level constant each...

I set up four traps in my back yard each one has the exact same bait but each one is a different size. The bait that I used for my mosquito traps is dog chow that was fermented for a few days. The first trap that I set up was a small plastic water bottle cut in half then I placed the bait, then the wooden stick but the first trap was a complete failure since my dog ate everything inside...

Firstly, my first week wasn't the most successful; I placed 2 buckets around my AOI, but wasn't able to get a third down. I walked in one business and asked if I could use the land in the back. They said they would give me a call when they could... never got that call through the week. I also called a church in my AOI and, again, they would call me back. No call. Lastly, I tried my elementary...

I'm going to share my experiences conducting a mosquito trap experiment in the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio. Throughout the summer, I will have 4 mosquito traps set up in my backyard, each baited with different substances, but otherwise identical. The goal of this controlled experiment is to see what type of bait is most successful at attracting adult female mosquitoes to lay their eggs. Week 1...

My mosquito trap experiment is testing the effects of different kinds of bait and locations on mosquitoes. I have set up three different traps in three different locations with three different kinds of bait. Experiments and Hypotheses Trap #1: This trap is located in my backyard, which has an abundance of wasps. I know that wasps are not predators of mosquitoes, but I believe that the...

Hypothesis: It is expected that most mosquito larvae will be present in alkaline water with the highest pH while the least mosquito larvae in the acidic water with low pH. Setup: 5 identical buckets were placed in a shaded area in my backyard, several meters from each other. The independent variable in this case was the pH of the water as it varied from strongly acidic to strongly alkaline....

Setup/Procedure In this experiment, I used four traps with four different baits as such: Concentrated Processed Sugar (Gatorade), Less Concentrated Processed Sugar (Refined Sugar Dissolved in Water), Concentrated Less Processed Sugar (Honey Dissolved in Water), Less Concentrated and Less Processed Sugar (Coconut Water). This was of course was alongside the control trap, consisting solely of...

In this experiment, I will be exploring how geoposition, type of bait, and container size influence female mosquitos’ choice of where to lay their eggs.  Experimental design There will be a total of 5 traps. Three of the traps will be positioned at a location near my house. They will be separated by a reasonable distance in the same type of environment to minimize the experimental error...

Introduction/Theory  For my mosquito experiment, I am testing how different kinds of bait affect the number of oviposition in my trap. Different mosquito species are attracted to different habitats, natural or artificial, some of which have been changing due to climate change. Mosquitoes are the most dangerous animal in the world because of their disease transmitting abilities, so...

Research Questions: My experiment ran two adjacent triads of mosquito traps aimed to explore two questions: whether the local mosquito species in my area prefer to oviposit in containers with greater surface areas of water, and whether the same mosquitoes would prefer to oviposit in particular containers with varying types of water "bait".  Data: After 5 weeks of running this...

During my field study, I observed that I found more mosquito larvae in dirty ditches under an open sky. Based on my observations, for my mosquito traps, the specific variables I chose to control were centered around the quality of water and trap wall materials. I made 3 traps: A deep ceramic pot with mud, water, sticks, and dead and live plants, a cut water bottle with clear water and black...

I am currently testing the attractability of mosquitoes to black and white, with a control of transparent plastic. This could help us determine what clothes to dress in to avoid mosquito bites, and therefore the spread of disease, when going outside.  Materials: Three 1 liter clear plastic containers One 1 liter white plastic container One 1 liter black plastic container Five wooden...

Conclusion: Although no mosquitoes were found, this process has helped me understand the methodology of making an experiment and having to deal with hardships and setbacks. There were many potential sources of error both within the system of the experiment and with outside forces. Systematic errors could have stemmed from the trap design or location. The weather was a factor of random...

I currently have four traps in operational order. Two at one of my AOIs and two in backyard that were prototypes that I've left up because they seem to be performing admirably. I My traps have been up for about a week, the prototypes were deployed a day before the other two, and I haven't seen any mosquitos or mosquito larvae. I did take care to note that I used dog food in my trap,...

Have you ever wondered why NASA has chosen to follow water? NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has captured the distinct signature of water outside our solar system. NASA's Artemis program is examining the presence of water on the Moon in advance of sending and establishing a sustainable human presence there.  The answer is simple - water is key to life as we know it, including on planet...

Background Remote working and remote learning presented challenges to us all. As a Master Trainer in Colombia, Juan Felipe Restrepo Mesa faced and overcame his share of challenges when working with a new group of educators from rural areas.  Most of the training material and the tests that need to be answered were in English. This, of course, means that citizen scientists who do not speak...