Using the Google Trends tool to analyze searches for cyanobacteria

Cyanobacteria carry out processes essential to sustaining life on Earth, such as oxygenic photosynthesis and nitrogen fixation. However, the excessive growth of their populations due to eutrophication and global warming can cause serious problems for the environment and humans. Because of the importance of quickly monitoring information about these organisms, digital tools such as Google Trends (GT), which monitors and stores all search history, are very useful. This study was conducted to investigate the temporal and seasonal patterns of searches for cyanobacteria using search data stored by GT. For this purpose, 10 countries with access to the Google platform were selected, searches were filtered by the term "cyanobacteria" in english and official languages, and the data collected covers the period from 2004 to September 2021. Most of the selected countries showed temporal search patterns in terms of interest in cyanobacteria regardless of language, with Brazil, Canada, India and Mexico standing out. In terms of seasonality, the flow of research between countries in tropical regions is associated with the drier seasons, such as spring and fall. For countries in temperate regions, this flow occurs during the seasons when the temperature rises. The relationships of interest in online research may change as other topics become relevant, but this can be reversed if these relevant points are identified and excluded.