Demographic and motivational differences between participants in analog and digital citizen science projects for monitoring mosquitoes.

Worldwide, citizen scientists help to map the distribution of native and introduced mosquito species in a variety of programs, contributing to environmental research and management decisions. Participant background, behavior, and engagement may vary depending on the project design, especially between those using digital apps and those using physical samples, which in turn may impact the quality and representativeness of the data collected. During the analysis of the responses to a survey directed at citizen scientists participating in  a digital and an analog program, we found significant differences in the respondents' demographic backgrounds.

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

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.