Building International Capacity for Citizen Scientist Engagement in Mosquito Surveillance and Mitigation: The GLOBE Program’s GLOBE Observer Mosquito Habitat Mapper

Abstract

The GLOBE Program’s GLOBE Observer Mosquito Habitat Mapper is a no-cost citizen scientist data collection tool compatible with Android and iOS devices. Available in 14 languages and 126 countries, it supports mosquito vector surveillance, mitigation, and education by interested individuals and as part of participatory community surveillance programs. For low-resource communities where mosquito control services are inadequate, the Mosquito Habitat Mapper supports local health action, empowerment, and environmental justice. The tangible benefits to human health supported by the Mosquito Habitat Mapper have encouraged its wide adoption, with more than 32,000 observations submitted from 84 countries. The Mosquito Habitat Mapper surveillance and data collection tool is complemented by an open database, a map visualization interface, data processing and analysis tools, and a supporting education and outreach campaign. The mobile app tool and associated research and education assets can be rapidly deployed in the event of a pandemic or local disease outbreak, contributing to global readiness and resilience in the face of mosquito-borne disease. Here, we describe the app, the Mosquito Habitat Mapper information system, examples of Mosquito Habitat Mapper deployment in scientific research, and the outreach campaign that supports volunteer training and STEM education of students worldwide.

Integrating Global Citizen Science Platforms to Enable Next-Generation Surveillance of Invasive and Vector Mosquitoes

“…These data are openly available for visualization and download at (accessed on 30 June 2022). A summary of Mosquito Habitat Mapper data from 2017–2020 is reported in [ 17 ] (see also Low et al, 2022 [ 45 ]). In 2021, the month-long summer photo challenge stimulated the submission of 539 larval photos ( Figure 2 ), 1360 habitat photos, and 5125 land cover photos.…”

“…aegypti ) [ 17 ]. The Mosquito Habitat Mapper enables users to geolocate and photograph standing water habitats and mosquito larvae, as well as document counts of larvae and pupae and the presence/absence of eggs and nearby adults [ 45 ]. To properly photograph a larva, the citizen scientist needs to use an inexpensive (USD 5–10) clip-on macro lens with at least 60x magnification ( Figure 2 ) or, alternatively, use a microscope.…”

“…Larval specimens can then be identified as one of the three aforementioned genera using a built-in dichotomous pictorial key, which presents the field photos alongside diagrams and photos for comparison. While most citizen scientists submitting larval images do not attempt to identify the genus, this feature has encouraged users to look carefully at their specimens, with the result that the incidence of macroinvertebrates misidentified as mosquitoes is very low—well below one percent, based on a recent expert photo validation of container mosquitoes from four countries in Africa [ 45 ]. Taxonomic identifications by citizen scientists are reported in the Mosquito Habitat Mapper database but require expert validation.…”

“…The Mosquito Habitat Photo Challenge was paired with a website ( , accessed on 30 June 2022), a social media campaign, a series of informational webinars, and a Challenge Activity Tracker, where volunteers can log their participation in the event. In addition, a data dashboard was updated daily, presenting near-real-time progress during the challenge [ 45 ]. Materials were also created for communicating the utility of efforts and the instructions to citizen scientists ( Figure 2 ; File S1 ).…”

A regional One Health approach to the risk of invasion byAnopheles stephensiin Mauritius

“…Proactive approaches are recommended, including the operational use of new surveillance tools, such as xenomonitoring based on saliva analysis (Flies et al, 2015) or faeces analysis Mapper, an app-based tool developed by NASA that helps the community to take an active part in surveillance by documenting mosquito breeding habitats and identifying larval mosquito genera (Low, 2018;Low et al, 2021;. Special workshops and sensitization campaigns will be organized by the Health Ministry for a greater outreach of this tool to the Mauritian citizens.…”