Mosquito Stoppers: A Citizen Science Project

Have you ever been bit a lot by mosquitoes during the day? Do you ever see black and white bugs flying around your back yard or home? Do they make you itchy and annoy you? If you answered yes to any of these questions then you may have already met the Asian Tiger Mosquito!
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Who is the Asian Tiger Mosquito?

Asian Tiger Mosquitoes are a type of mosquito that came from Asia to America in the late 1980s. Asian Tiger Mosquitoes are very aggressive biters and can spread diseases to both humans and animals.

Reported West Nile Virus cases in 2009 in the United States. Maryland had 2 reported cases of human infection.

Spread of the Asian Tiger Mosquito

These six images show how the Asian Tiger Mosquito has spread in the United States since first landing in Texas in the 1980s. Asian Tiger Mosquito came from China to Texas in tires and wooden shipping pallets.

How can I help fix the problem?

Many communities and institutions are realizing that maintaining human and ecosystem health requires more than green buildings, streets, and parks. Planning, constructing, and managing community systems that are sustainable and eco-friendly are important to community livability, energy flows, local food production systems, local-global economic webs, social networks, community governance, resource sharing networks, and integrated land use and transportation are just some of the community system that, when synergizes in a specific place, constitute a complex human ecosystem or Civic Ecology.
(Sera 2014) 4

Mosquito Investigators
Who: The Asian Tiger Mosquito

Mosquito Investigators
Where: Everywhere in the United States
The current habitat range of the Asian Tiger Mosquito in the United States.

Mosquito Investigators
What: The Asian Tiger Mosquito is a highly invasive mosquito that has become both a pest and a health risk across the United States of America. Asian Tiger Mosquitoes are very aggressive biters all day and can give people such diseases as; St. Louis Encephalitis, West Nile Virus, Dengue Fever, Malaria, and Yellow Fever. These diseases can be difficult to treat and are responsible for hundreds of deaths every year. Mosquitoes also force people indoors to avoid being bitten and take away play time outside.

Mosquito Investigators
What is an invasive species? An invasive species is an animal that comes from a different place in the world that does not belong in a certain area and can have negative impacts on the plants and animals in that new area.

What can I do to help with this problem?

Become a citizen scientist!

So you may have some questions about Citizen Science

What is citizen science? Citizen Science is individuals studying the world around them in a scientific manner. Citizen science includes both asking questions and finding answers to problems and questions in every day life. Who is a citizen scientist? A citizen scientist is anyone who can use both their senses and skills to help ask and answer questions in a scientific way. The citizen scientist could be you!
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How do we do citizen science?

Citizen science can be used to describe many different types of activities and questions local individuals are doing and asking to improve their community. Citizen scientists use a variety of tools to help answer some of these questions.

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How do we do citizen science?

Some tools that citizen scientists might use that we might normally think of are: a magnifying glass, a notebook, a beaker, a measuring tape, and a chemical testing kit.

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How do we do citizen science?

Citizen scientists also have other tools to use that help answer questions that we might not normally think of as tools for science. These tools might be: a camera, a cell phone, a computer, and other every day items that we might have around the house.

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Want to ask your own research questions?

Complete the following and share with us your results!

*A hypothesis can also be called a model by most scientists.

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Doing your own science!

Observation Wonder why or how? Background information
Need to know more

Likely explanation
(Scientists often call this their hypothesis or model)

Plan to gather evidence

Is the evidence sufficient?

Yes, satisfied No, not yet satisfied

New tests

Revise Explanation

Repeat until satisfied

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Fun Facts About Mosquitoes

-Some mosquitoes can grow to adulthood in as little as a tablespoon of water. -A mosquito can go from egg to adult in 1 week. -Mosquitoes can live in our attic or basement over the winter until spring. -Most mosquitoes dont bite humans- they prefer birds, amphibians, or other mammals. -Only female mosquitoes bite- they need blood to provide them with enough protein to produce eggs. -Both male mosquitoes and female mosquitoes feed on nectar for energy.
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Conclusion

Our citizen science program is part of a larger research study that is investigating how mosquito and other pest infestations vary with physical and socio-ecological characteristics of neighborhoods and will broadly examine feedbacks between outdoor pest exposures, resident use of the outdoor environment, and sustainability of urban greening initiatives that could decrease pest production. Scientists will integrate ecological, environmental justice, and education theory to assess how symptoms of urban decay (e.g., empty buildings, unmanaged lots, garbage, etc.) may be both a mechanistic cause and unintended result of increased pest exposure, especially in lower socio-economic neighborhoods.
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Conclusion cont.

In addition to the program, the project will be recruiting community members for at least two other project components: Community Mapping and PhotoVoice. -Community Mapping is a method to visually link data about the community to the physical locations within the community. The goal of community mapping is to support development and change (economic and social) at a community level. -PhotoVoice is a method that uses photography as a means of identifying social and cultural practices and experiences of individuals and communities. PhotoVoice will be used as a participatory research method to document the perceptions of local environmental hazards and pest sources, and the potential impact on health among residents in West Baltimore, Maryland.
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