If you've already signed up, and want to see an update of our progress, click here. Otherwise, please read on...
We've reached the limit of participants
that we can afford to supply with materials. However, we hope to obtain
funds to expand this project, so if you're interested in participating in
an expanded effort to begin in 2004, please read further and let us know.
For future years, we'd be particularly interested in filling in some of
the gaps in our network, and hope to develop more sites in southern Indiana,
Ohio, and southwestern Pennsylvania.
Here's what we hope to do:
The Great Labor Day Mosquito Count
If we can succeed in establishing a network of participating kids, we can obtain data on many mosquito populations, simultaneously, across many different environments. We would like the data to test predictions about the outcome of an invasion of North America by an Asian mosquito. In exchange for having your kids help us gather the data, we'll develop a set of exercises for your kids that:
We hope to generate enough interest among teachers and group leaders of kids to convince funders that we have the beginning of an idea that's worth supporting. The more expressions of interest we can get, the more likely it is that we can produce some materials and activities that you would want to incorporate into your science curriculum. We are confident that meaningful projects and activities can be developed at a variety of levels, from mid-elementary through high school.
Sampling method:
If we succeed in finding grant support, we hope to develop a large network of sampling sites. The mosquitoes we study lay their eggs in small bodies of water, like treeholes and tires, so it's very easy and simple to set out egg traps--plastic cups hung on trees, with water and slats of wood. Mosquitoes lay their eggs on the wood. We would send you a kit (cups, slats, nails) with instructions. Your students could take these traps home and hang them on trees in their neighborhoods, leave them out for a fixed period in early September, gather the slats, and bring them to you to mail to our lab. We would count and identify the eggs, and send you back the results for your own area, as well as for all other participating groups. This is about as simple as a field project could be, and we're convinced that it can be done easily by fourth graders while still remaining a worthwhile activity all the way up to high school.
What's in it for you and your kids:
You'll get some ideas about science that are easy to implement and require basic technology and little equipment. Students can ask scientific questions about organisms they are very familiar with some very basic everyday items. Your students will become part of a discovery process. We realize that science is often difficult for students to connect with. Let us help you teach your kids about the scientific process by allowing your students to ask, "which mosquitoes are biting us, why are they doing so, and where exactly do those little things come from anyway?".
Students who continue to participate will develop ideas of their own that they can turn into meaningful research projects at middle school or high school levels. They will also have access to the data on a national scale.
We hope to use this project to generate more interest in science. It is worrisome to know that only 15% of students entering college are even qualified to become majors in any of the natural sciences, despite the rewarding careers that can be obtained with science majors. We can do better than this!
We're at the very earliest stage of this project--we have no funding yet, although we are willing to prepare some kits for distribution next fall. For the moment, all we ask is whether you are interested in participating in any project that does develop. As the enterprise grows, we hope to be able to provide curricular goodies (web site, videos, integrated units), visit some classrooms, present insect shows, and help students with projects. We will be sure to remember first those who are first to respond to our request.
What's in it for us:
This seems to the be best way of determining, on a large scale, the advance of an invading mosquito species, and also its effects on native species. Our early work with these mosquitoes, done in the laboratory, suggests that the invader should have a competitive effect on the natives, but that they should be able to coexist. We can only test this prediction by studying field populations in a wide variety of environments for an extended period of time.
You can help us obtain the data we need to test our lab-based predictions. We need a commitment of effort for at least two consecutive Septembers, so we can determine whether each species is either growing or declining in your area. We hope the benefits of participation will be attractive enough to convince you to stay with us for a longer period.
Who are we?
We're the Population Biology Laboratory at Clark University, in Worcester Massachusetts, directed by Todd Livdahl, a professor of Biology, and students. We've been working on container-breeding mosquitoes for more than 21 years, and our work has been supported by grants from the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health, among other sources.
To express interest in participating in the Great Labor Day Mosquito Count in future years (2004 and beyond), please provide the following:
Name and contact information,
Organization and location,
Approximate number of students to be involved
Specific needs that we might be able to help with (e.g., microscopes, computers, supplies), if we can obtain support.
Click here to send an e-mail response
Or, send email to mosquito@clarku.edu
Many thanks,
Todd Livdahl and students
We're off to an encouraging start. Since June 12, 2003,
we have identified quite a few participating teachers. Their locations
are marked in yellow, below. The map (from CDC) also shows the known distribution
of the invading Asian Tiger Mosquito Aedes albopictus, as of 2000.
We'll be working on curricular materials and assembling many kits of materials
for distribution in August. Given the high volume of materials we're committed
to providing, this will be a major effort.
Thanks again for your interest.
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Illinois |
Ohio |
Kentucky |
| Beach Park | Alexandria | Hazard | |
| Loves Park | Maryland | Hopkinsville | |
| Charleston | Takoma Park |
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| Chatham | Spencerville |
Leitchfield |
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| Chicago | Virginia | Berea |
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| Des Plaines | Milford | Pennsylvania |
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| Junction | Virginia Beach | Rutledge | |
| Peoria | Mechanicsville | Forty Fort | |
| Rockford | Gainesville |
Chalfont | |
| Williamsfield | Blacksburg |
Philadelphia | |
| Dahinda |
Indiana |
Ephrata | |
| Urbana |
Hammond |
Folsom | |
| Missouri | Indianapolis |
Wisconsin |
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| Chesterfield | Florida |
Loyal | |
| Texas |
Pensacola |
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| Cactus |
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