Gert van der Hoek
In Memoriam - Editor, Senior Moderator
Tiger mosquito found in Andalusia thanks to a collaborative citizens' project
Date: November 6, 2014
Thanks to a mobile phone app, the tiger mosquito has been discovered for the first time to be present in Andalusia. The insect transmits diseases like chikungunya and dengue fever. This was made possible by public participation via the "AtrapaelTigre.com" app and subsequent verification by entomologists collaborating in the project.
June 2014 saw the launch of the mobile app Tigatrapp, from AtrapaelTigre.com, a citizen science project aiming to study and monitor the tiger mosquito in Spain with the participation of entomologists from across the nation.
The more than 6,000 people who have downloaded it to date have sent data from a total 1,600 possible points where this insect might be located. Thanks to these users, the species has been found in Andalusia for the first time.. The study is published in the journal 'Anales de Biología'.
"These results demonstrate that the public's contribution can make a big difference," they add, "and although scientific progress takes time, this kind of collaborative effort can lead to rapid discoveries like new science citations."
Science Daily
Date: November 6, 2014
Thanks to a mobile phone app, the tiger mosquito has been discovered for the first time to be present in Andalusia. The insect transmits diseases like chikungunya and dengue fever. This was made possible by public participation via the "AtrapaelTigre.com" app and subsequent verification by entomologists collaborating in the project.
June 2014 saw the launch of the mobile app Tigatrapp, from AtrapaelTigre.com, a citizen science project aiming to study and monitor the tiger mosquito in Spain with the participation of entomologists from across the nation.
The more than 6,000 people who have downloaded it to date have sent data from a total 1,600 possible points where this insect might be located. Thanks to these users, the species has been found in Andalusia for the first time.. The study is published in the journal 'Anales de Biología'.
"These results demonstrate that the public's contribution can make a big difference," they add, "and although scientific progress takes time, this kind of collaborative effort can lead to rapid discoveries like new science citations."
Science Daily