Mosquito projects enable students to conduct research investigations and positively impact communities

There is increased concern about impacts of climate change on vector-borne and other infectious diseases especially in developing countries such as those in Asia and Africa. Two mosquito citizen science projects were... [ view full abstract ]

There is increased concern about impacts of climate change on vector-borne and other infectious diseases especially in developing countries such as those in Asia and Africa. Two mosquito citizen science projects were developed in the GLOBE ( Global learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment) Seasons and Biomes project, one for monitoring larval abundance for mosquitoes that are vectors for malaria and another for determining larval abundance for mosquitoes that are vectors for dengue fever. Professional development workshops were conducted for primary and secondary teachers from Tanzania, Kenya, Nigeria, Madagascar and Thailand. These workshops focused not only on learning science content and process skills but also science measurement protocols and best teaching practices to engage students in scientific inquiry about real world problems relevant to their locale. The mosquito protocol and learning activities for dengue fever were developed and used in Thailand while the materials for the mosquito investigation for malaria were used by teachers from the African countries. A Mosquito Online Analytic Service tool for querying, analyzing and visualizing patterns of mosquito larval distribution was developed in Thailand, that can help identify dengue risk areas and design effective dengue control strategies. Students have also conducted their own research projects and presented them in their own classes and schools but also in national and international conferences. Research investigation involvement and visualization of results empowered students to help clean up and cover water containers in their households and neighborhoods, one of the effective ways to eliminate mosquito breeding sites. We are working on the development of a mosquito protocol that can monitor larval abundance of mosquito vectors for malaria, dengue and West Nile fever that can be used in the U.S. and other parts of the world to engage more students and perhaps community members as citizen scientists in mosquito research.