The #MosquitoAlertBCN project team has developed the first daily map that predicts the risk of finding a tiger mosquito in Barcelona . It is a digital map, unique in the world, that reports in real time and on a 20-meter scale about the likelihood of a mosquito and a person meeting or interacting that day.
In 2020, Mosquito Alert has recorded twice as many tiger mosquitoes as in 2019. It has been the year with the most mosquitoes since 2014, when the citizen science platform began collecting data.
The Mosquito Alert app is now available in 18 European countries from Europe and will help monitoring the spread of these insects, which can transmit viral diseases such as dengue or Japanese encephalitis.
The number of tiger mosquito sightings reported via the Mosquito Alert app in the first half of 2020 is 70% higher than in 2018, which was, until now, the year with the most early-season sightings of the insect. However, 2015 still holds the record for the greatest number of tiger mosquito sightings over a full season.
The MosquitoAlertBCN project has been one of the research initiatives selected by the Pla Barcelona Ciència. It is a project led by CREAF, with the participation of UPF and IRIDEON and the collaboration of the ASPB. The Pla Barcelona Ciència has the support of the Barcelona City Council and the “la Caixa” Bank Foundation.
CREAF, part of the consortium of the project, was the organizer of the event, which took place between November 25 and 27 at the Casa Convalescència in Barcelona, to deepen the challenges is facing the citizen science.
The Big Mosquito Bytes project has been awarded a million euros by the “la Caixa” Banking Foundation. The project will combine citizen science and other massive data sources to develop innovative models that allow predicting the risk of epidemics, as well as visualizing this risk in real time. In the project led by CEAB-CSIC, scientists from UPF, the Max Planck Institute for Demography, the National Center for Epidemiology of ISPCIII and CREAF participate, and it draws heavily on the Mosquito Alert citizen science platform.
Aedes japonicus is an invasive insect capable of transmitting diseases such as West Nile virus. The mosquito was found in Asturias (North Spain) when a person sent a photo of the insect with the Mosquito Alert app in june.
Initiative Empowers National Networks, Stakeholders and Governments to Generate and Access Real-time Data and Tools through UN Electronic Platform ‘Environment Live”.
A new study with the participation of Bernat Claramunt, UAB and CREAF researcher, underscores the great potential of citizen science for conservation.
