Calgary researchers using ‘citizen science' for a study on invasive mosquitoes

Global News

5 days ago

The City of Calgary and the University of Calgary are hoping to enlist the public's help on a study of mosquitoes in the city.
It is taking place in two city parks — the Inglewood bird sanctuary and Ralph Klein Park.
The researchers are focusing on a mosquito known by its scientific name — culex pipiens — or more commonly as the northern house mosquito.
It's an invasive species native to Europe and Asia and until recently, thought only to be found in British Columbia and Eastern Canada.
That changed in 2018 when one was detected in Edmonton, then in Calgary in 2022 and since then in Lethbridge and Red Deer too.
Culex pipiens, also known as the northern house mosquito, is a common carrier of the West Nile virus. University of Calgary
In other parts of the world it commonly transmits West Nile virus: a potentially deadly neurological disease that affects humans and other animals that is spread through a mosquito bite.
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'It is the mosquito that started West Nile virus in North America — in 1999 in New York when West Nile emerged there — that makes it a little bit of a concern here,' said Dr. John Soghigian from the University of Calgary's Faculty of Veterinary Medicine.
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'We do have native mosquitoes that transmit West Nile, but this mosquito does not compete with them in any way, so we are a little concerned about an additive effect,' added Soghigian.
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Aex Coker, an integrated pest management technician with the city of Calgary, seen here collecting samples of mosquito larvae from a storm pond, says there are about different 40 species of mosquitoes in the city. Global News
'We have probably 35 to 40 different species in Calgary and in terms of life cycle they all kind of lay their eggs in or near water and then the larvae will hatch in the water and live in the water,' said Alex Coker, an integrated pest management technician with the City of Calgary, who is also helping with the study.
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Researchers from the City of Calgary and University of Calgary are hoping to enlist the public's help to determine how an invasive species of mosquito known to carry the West Nile virus, can survive Alberta's harsh winter. Global News
Researchers will be posting information signs in the two parks and leaving a collection of small vials that people can use to catch mosquitoes — preferably before they bite.
'Inside the baggie that vial is found in, we have little sheet of paper,' said Soghigian.
'We ask you to write down the date, the time, and the location, and then we have a little barcode you can scan if you'd like to learn more about the project.'
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The vial is then placed in a box where the researchers will later collect and take to them to a lab for testing on the type of mosquito and any viruses they may be carrying.
'We sample in Alberta for three different pathogens,' said Soghigian. 'The first is West Nile virus, the second is avian malaria — which we're concerned with for potential effects on bird communities — and the third is actually California serogroup viruses that are all very similar to each other and many of them can cause encephalitis, especially pediatric encephalitis.'
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Researchers are also hoping the information collected will also help them learn more about how the invasive mosquitoes are surviving Alberta's harsh winters.
'This mosquito is called the house mosquito because it goes into people's houses, often in the winter, where it enters a state that's similar to hibernation called diapause,' said Soghigian.
It is also well-adapted to using rain barrels, flower pots and any other small sources of standing water in people's yards as habitat.
'Last year we had a citizen science campaign where we asked Albertans to send us mosquitoes they found in their houses and most of the mosquitoes we got were this invasive mosquito,' added Soghigian.
This year the researchers are also hoping to determine if it is commonly found around larger sources of water like many native species of mosquitoes.
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What are the symptoms of West Nile virus?