Twitter May Help in Tracking Invasive Insects, Researchers Say

While Twitter is a popular social medium for communication and updating, a study sheds light on how the platform and other online news can help track the spread of invasive insects across the United States and worldwide. Information, such as location and timing, may be generated through the platform. According to Phys, researchers think that source sources have the potential to bridge the gaps when official data is not widely available.

(Photo: Unsplash / Alexander Shatov)

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Twitter's Potential Role in Scientific Monitoring

The Computers, Environment, and Urban Systems publication included the study findings.

Associate teaching professor Laura Tateoslan expressed how the idea was to assess if such data could be used to fill in information gaps regarding the spread of pests. They also aimed to ultimately see if the data can support the development of enhanced models of prediction where the spread is taking place.

Tateoslan notes how despite Twitter not being a formal source of scientific data, the researchers observed that major events regarding two invasive insects were on Twitter and the news.

As part of the study, the scientists monitored previous Tweets regarding two insects, the Tuta absoluta and spotted lanternfly. Brandwatch, a web-based service with a subscription, compiled such tweets. They also looked into news aggregated by the GDELT (Global Database of Events, Language and Tone) Project and Google News.

Spotted Lanternfly and Tuta Absoluta

The spotted lanternfly was first reported in Pennsylvania last 2014. It is an Asian-native insect that can destroy cherries, grapes, hops, particular lumber trees, and other plant species. The team monitored historical posts from Pennsylvania regarding the species in 2017. They then did so on a global scale among posts from between 2011 to 2021.

The Tuta absoluta, on the other hand, is a South American native. Also known to be the tomato leaf miner, the plant species was first observed in 2006 in Spain. It has spread to regions in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. Because of its capacity to devastate tomatoes, the Tuta absoluta was dubbed "tomato Ebola." The scientists monitored Tuta absoluta posts from 2011 to 2021.

Twitter Data Observed to Align With Official Surveys

Geospatial analytics graduate student Ariel Saffer expressed that though certain invasive insects have attained their range on a global scale, the two focused invasive insects were spreading actively. Saffer notes how they launched this study to assess if using such sources to track their spread would be scientifically reasonable. They compared the data pertaining to places where such pests are scientifically found to dwell and checked if such informal sources aligned with existing information.

According to the NC State News, the researchers discovered that certain Twitter activity and news stories monitored patterns reflected in official reports and surveys.

Such findings suggest that the platform and news information may help supplement official sources. However, it is necessary to conduct more work.

Saffer notes how social and news media can relay insight immediately. This is especially the case if scientific updates regarding pest spread are not published right away or are not widely available to other specialists. Saffer also expresses how relying on publication-derived data may sometimes give a patchwork when it comes to time and space, depending on the date of the study. He notes the potential difficulties in data aggregation over continuous time, especially worldwide, as different agencies can manage information.

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