Occurrence of Aedes cretinus in Cyprus based on information collected by citizen scientists

Abstract

The current study presents a success story where through a small network of citizen scientists original information regarding the occurrence of Aedes cretinus was received, suggesting the absence of invasive Aedes species on the island of Cyprus. Citizen science records show that Ae. cretinus most likely has an island wide spatial distribution while its seasonal activity is limited to the spring and summer months. Data collected by citizen scientists under ‘The Three Mosquiteers’ citizen science initiative, provided more records than any efforts from the authorities in the last 73 years. The future success and the longevity of this initiative will be strongly dependent on the in-depth engagement and collaboration between local experts in entomology and citizen scientists.

The Alien to Cyprus Entomofauna (ACE) database: a review of the current status of alien insects (Arthropoda, Insecta) including an updated species checklist, discussion on impacts and recommendations for informing management

“…Nevertheless, systematic mosquito surveillance in the Akrotiri Peninsula and surrounding regions since 2012 has failed to detect the species thus far (Martinou et al 2022a). Aedes albopictus (Skuse, 1894) has also been recently (October 2022) recorded at six locations in Limassol District (Martinou et al 2022b;Christou et al in press). Due to the most recent discovery of these invasive alien mosquito species (exceeding the data collection period), these records are not presented in our checklist, but will be added to the database.…”

Revisiting the debate: documenting biodiversity in the age of digital and artificially generated images

“…Based on the scientific literature, it is evident that the use of images plays an increasing role in the documentation, taxonomy, and expansion of knowledge about species distribution (Barahona-Segovia et al, 2017;Tiralongo et al, 2019;Heard et al, 2019;Werenkraut et al, 2020;Wangyal et al, 2020;Tiralongo et al, 2021;Martinou et al, 2021;Terán-Sánchez et al, 2021;Ehemann et al, 2022;Demetriou et al, 2022;Webb et al, 2022;Antúnez-Fonseca et al, 2022;Barahona-Segovia et al, 2023;Gorleri et al, 2023;Krell and Marshall, 2017). Regarding taxonomic consequences, a classic case involves Hume's owl, Strix butleri (Hume, 1878), initially known to be only from eastern Egypt, Sinai, Israel, the Palestinian territories, Jordan, and the Arabian Peninsula, with possible records on the island of Socotra and in southern Pakistan (Mikkola, 2012;Jennings, 2010;Dickinson and Remsen, 2013).…”

Μελέτη της βιοοικολογίας των σημαντικότερων κουνουπιών του γένους Culex και Aedes που ενδημούν στη Θεσσαλία

“…albopictus (Bonizzoni et al, 2013;Gratz, 2004;Lozano-Fuentes et al, 2019;Morgi et al, 2020) (Πεππέ, 2015). (Edwards, 1921;Giatropoulos et al, 2012;Samanidou, 1998).…”