Mosquito-borne diseases continue to ravage humankind with >700 million infections and nearly one million deaths every year. Yet only a small percentage of the >3500 mosquito species transmit diseases, necessitating both extensive surveillance and precise identification. Unfortunately, such efforts are costly, time-consuming, and require entomological expertise. As envisioned by the Global Mosquito Alert Consortium, citizen science can provide a scalable solution. However, disparate data standards across existing platforms have thus far precluded truly global integration. Here, utilizing Open Geospatial Consortium standards, we harmonized four data streams from three established mobile apps—Mosquito Alert, iNaturalist, and GLOBE Observer’s Mosquito Habitat Mapper and Land Cover—to facilitate interoperability and utility for researchers, mosquito control personnel, and policymakers. We also launched coordinated media campaigns that generated unprecedented numbers and types of observations, including successfully capturing the first images of targeted invasive and vector species. Additionally, we leveraged pooled image data to develop a toolset of artificial intelligence algorithms for future deployment in taxonomic and anatomical identification. Ultimately, by harnessing the combined powers of citizen science and artificial intelligence, we establish a next-generation surveillance framework to serve as a united front to combat the ongoing threat of mosquito-borne diseases worldwide.

Water mixing is a critical mechanism in marine habitats that governs many important processes, including nutrient transport. Physical mechanisms, such as winds or tides, are primarily responsible for mixing effects in shallow coastal systems, but the sheltered habitats adjacent to mangroves experience very low turbulence and vertical mixing. The significance of biogenic mixing in pelagic habitats has been investigated but remains unclear. In this study, we show that the upside-down jellyfish Cassiopea sp. plays a significant role with respect to biogenic contributions to water column mixing within its shallow natural habitat (<2 m deep). The mixing contribution was determined by high-resolution flow velocimetry methods in both the laboratory and the natural environment. We demonstrate that Cassiopea sp. continuously pump water from the benthos upward in a vertical jet with flow velocities on the scale of centimeters per second. The volumetric flow rate was calculated to be 212 L⋅h-1 for average-sized animals (8.6 cm bell diameter), which translates to turnover of the entire water column every 15 min for a median population density (29 animals per m2). In addition, we found Cassiopea sp. are capable of releasing porewater into the water column at an average rate of 2.64 mL⋅h−1 per individual. The release of nutrient-rich benthic porewater combined with strong contributions to water column mixing suggests a role for Cassiopea sp. as an ecosystem engineer in mangrove habitats.

Water mixing affects aquatic ecosystem processes by regulating the interactions between water masses such as delivering nutrient-rich water to depleted areas. Physical processes, such as winds or tides, are primarily responsible for mixing effects in shallow coastal systems, but the sheltered flats adjacent to mangrove habitats experience very low turbulence and vertical mixing. The significance of animal biogenic mixing in open ocean habitats is unclear, but in this study we explore the role of the upside-down jellyfish Cassiopea sp., with respect to biogenic contribution to water column mixing in shallow, sheltered habitats. The mixing contribution was determined by means of high definition Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) in both the laboratory and in the natural environment. Cassiopea sp. was found to continuously pump water from the benthos upward in a vertical jet with flow velocities in the range of 1 to 2 cm s -1 . The volumetric flow rate was found to be 212 l h -1 for average sized animals (8.6 cm bell diameter), leading to a water column turnover rate of about 15 minutes for a median population density (29 animals m -2 ). In addition, Cassiopea sp. were responsible for release of porewater into the water column at an average rate of 2.64 ml h -1 . This release of benthic porewater, which is often nutrient-rich, in conjunction with the increase in water column mixing, suggest a role for Cassiopea sp. as an ecosystem engineer in mangrove habitats.Cassiopea | Upside-down Jellyfish | Water Mixing | Particle Image Velocimetry | Nutrient Flux

Cassiopea sp., the Upside-Down Jellyfish, are considered to be sedentary epibenthic organisms which exhibit little to no movement on the seafloor. In this study, we use time-lapse videography of a Cassiopea population in the Florida Keys to demonstrate that Cassiopea sp. exhibit a greater degree of benthic locomotion than previously understood, with animals covering distances up to 178 cm per day. In addition, Cassiopea seem to aggregate on the bottom, with average number of neighbors consistently higher than would be expected for random distributions. Given the ability of Cassiopea to release nematocysts directly into the water column, we present this aggregation as a potential defensive behavior in this species.

Upside-down jellyfish, genus Cassiopea (Péron and Lesueur, 1809), are found in shallow coastal habitats in tropical and subtropical regions circumglobally. These animals have previously been demonstrated to produce flow both in the water column as a feeding current, and in the interstitial porewater, where they liberate porewater at rates averaging 2.46 mL h−1. Since porewater in Cassiopea habitat can be nutrient-rich, this is a potential source of nutrient enrichment in these ecosystems. This study experimentally determines that porewater release by Cassiopea sp. jellyfish is due to suction pumping, and not the Bernoulli effect. This suggests porewater release is directly coupled to bell pulsation rate, and unlike vertical jet flux, should be unaffected by population density. In addition, we show that bell pulsation rate is positively correlated with temperature, and negatively correlated with animal size. As such, we would predict an increase in the release of nutrient-rich porewater during the warm summer months. Furthermore, we show that, at our field site in Lido Key, Florida, at the northernmost limit of Cassiopea range, population densities decline during the winter, increasing seasonal differences in porewater release.