TUTORIAL: USING GIS TO TRACK MOSQUITOES

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Learn how Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can be used to map, monitor, and analyze mosquito populations and breeding sites for public health and research purposes.


1. Introduction to Mosquito Tracking with GIS

Why track mosquitoes?

Disease control (malaria, dengue, Zika, etc.)

Environmental management

Public health decision-making

How GIS helps:

Mapping mosquito habitats and breeding sites

Analyzing environmental factors (rainfall, temperature, land use)

Visualizing spatial patterns and risks


2. Data Requirements

Base layers:

Administrative boundaries

Land use/land cover

Water bodies

Elevation/DEM (optional)

Mosquito data:

Location of mosquito traps or breeding sites (GPS coordinates)

Mosquito species

Larval counts or adult mosquito density

Date and time of capture

Environmental data:

Rainfall, temperature (can be from satellite sources or weather stations)


3. Tools You’ll Need

GIS Software:

QGIS (Free and Open Source)

ArcGIS (Paid, with more features)

GPS device or mobile app for data collection (e.g., SW Maps, Collector for ArcGIS, ODK, Kobocollect)

Spreadsheet software (e.g., Excel or Google Sheets) for organizing field data


4. Step-by-Step Guide in QGIS


Step 1: Prepare Your Data

Create a CSV file with mosquito trap data:

latitude, longitude, species, count, date, etc.

Download base maps (OpenStreetMap, satellite imagery)

Add shapefiles or GeoTIFFs for elevation and water bodies


Step 2: Load Data into QGIS

Import your CSV using "Add Delimited Text Layer"

Load other vector or raster layers (e.g., land use, water bodies)


Step 3: Style the Layers

Symbolize mosquito counts by size or color

Use graduated colors for environmental layers (e.g., rainfall)


Step 4: Analyze the Data

Heatmap to show mosquito hotspots

Buffer analysis around water bodies to find risk zones

Spatial Join to relate mosquito counts to land use


Step 5: Map Production

Use the Print Layout tool to create and export maps

Add north arrow, scale bar, and legend


5. Advanced Analysis (Optional)

Time series analysis using temporal mosquito data

Predictive modeling with environmental variables

Remote sensing to detect stagnant water using NDWI


6. Applications & Case Studies

Mapping malaria hotspots in sub-Saharan Africa

Urban mosquito surveillance in Latin America

Zika virus risk mapping in Southeast Asia


7. Tips for Field Data Collection

Use consistent GPS formats (WGS 84)

Validate data entry in the field

Label traps clearly with ID numbers


8. Resources & Tools

QGIS Tutorials: https://docs.qgis.org

OpenWeather API for weather data

FAO GeoNetwork and NASA Earthdata for environmental layers

Comments

  1. MarcMay 10, 2025 at 1:03 PM

    This is very useful I recommend reading this,it's like an inspirational digital handbook In the world of GIS
    From an experienced teacher.

    ReplyDelete

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