Hollett Lucas, Padgett Tegan, Canuti Marta, White Courtney, Brenton Claire, Wight Jordan, Chapman Tom, Lang Andrew, Whitney Hugh, Carson Kate, Finnis Joel, Sarkar Atanu
Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Canada.
Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation, Universita' degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy.
Ecohealth. 2025 Mar 19. doi: 10.1007/s10393-025-01711-3.
Citizen science has long been applied to collect data on mosquito abundance and distribution and thereby provide critical information on the movements of invasive species and potentially associated human pathogens. This study, conducted in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador and in Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, showed that citizen scientists can provide mosquito samples from remote locations in a very cost-effective manner, and, thereby, contribute to the development of a comprehensive spatial database on native and invasive species. However, there have been some concerns about the quality of such data, and the reliability and sustainability of such means of conducting surveillance. Virological screening allowed us to identify 6.2% (17/274) of the tested mosquito pools as positive for either snowshoe hare virus (SHV, 14 pools) or Jamestown Canyon virus (JCV)-like viruses (3 pools). Additionally, we found evidence of clear geographic patterns in SHV circulation and identified a novel and likely reassortant JCV-like virus. The detection of viruses in native species from remote rural locations clearly validated the importance of public participation in mosquito surveillance. Despite several potential issues, citizen science can become an indispensable means of enabling ecological research in the context of public and animal health.
公民科学长期以来一直被用于收集蚊子数量和分布的数据，从而提供有关入侵物种移动以及潜在相关人类病原体的关键信息。这项在加拿大纽芬兰与拉布拉多省以及圣皮埃尔和密克隆群岛开展的研究表明，公民科学家能够以极具成本效益的方式从偏远地区提供蚊子样本，进而为建立一个关于本地和入侵物种的综合空间数据库做出贡献。然而，人们对这类数据的质量以及这种监测方式的可靠性和可持续性存在一些担忧。病毒学筛查使我们能够确定，在接受检测的蚊子样本池中，有6.2%（17/274）对雪兔病毒（SHV，14个样本池）或类詹姆斯敦峡谷病毒（JCV，3个样本池）呈阳性。此外，我们发现了SHV传播中明显的地理模式证据，并鉴定出一种新型且可能是重组的类JCV病毒。在偏远农村地区的本地物种中检测到病毒，明确证实了公众参与蚊子监测的重要性。尽管存在一些潜在问题，但在公共卫生和动物卫生背景下，公民科学可以成为开展生态研究不可或缺的手段。
