Dispersal is a critical life history behavior for mosquitoes and is important for the spread of mosquito-borne disease. We implemented the first stable isotope mark-capture study to measure mosquito dispersal, focusing on Culex pipiens in southwest suburban Chicago, Illinois, a hotspot of West Nile virus (WNV) transmission. We enriched nine catch basins in 2010 and 2011 with 15N-potassium nitrate and detected dispersal of enriched adult females emerging from these catch basins using CDC light and gravid traps to distances as far as 3 km. We detected 12 isotopically enriched pools of mosquitoes out of 2,442 tested during the two years and calculated a mean dispersal distance of 1.15 km and maximum flight range of 2.48 km. According to a logistic distribution function, 90% of the female Culex mosquitoes stayed within 3 km of their larval habitat, which corresponds with the distance-limited genetic variation of WNV observed in this study region. This study provides new insights on the dispersal of the most important vector of WNV in the eastern United States and demonstrates the utility of stable isotope enrichment for studying the biology of mosquitoes in other disease systems.

Culex pipiens L. (Diptera: Culicidae) and Culex restuans Theobald are the primary enzootic and bridge vectors of West Nile virus in the eastern United States north of 36° latitude. Recent studies of the natural history of these species have implicated catch basins and underground storm drain systems as important larval development sites in urban and suburban locales. Although the presence of larvae in these habitats is well-documented, the influence of abiotic factors on the ecology of Culex larvae developing in them remains poorly understood. Therefore, we examined the effects of multiple abiotic factors and their interactions on abundance of Culex larvae in catch basins in the Chicago, IL, metropolitan area. Low precipitation and high mean daily temperature were associated with high larval abundance, whereas there was no correlation between catch basin depth or water depth and larval abundance. Rainfall was an especially strong predictor of presence or absence of larvae in the summer of 2010, a season with an unusually high precipitation. Regression tree methods were used to build a schematic decision tree model of the interactions among these factors. This practical, visual representation of key predictors of high larval production may be used by local mosquito abatement districts to target limited resources to treat catch basins when they are particularly likely to produce West Nile virus vectors.

BackgroundAn important determinant of mosquito-borne pathogen transmission is the spatial distribution of vectors. The primary vectors of West Nile virus (WNV) in Illinois are Culex pipiens Linnaeus (Diptera: Culicidae) and Culex restuans Theobald. In urban environments, these mosquitoes commonly oviposit in roadside storm water catch basins. However, use of this habitat is inconsistent, with abundance of larvae varying significantly across catch basins at a fine spatial scale.MethodsWe tested the hypothesis that attributes of the biotic and abiotic environment contribute to spatial and temporal variation in production of mosquito vectors, characterizing the relationship between terrestrial vegetation and aquatic chemistry and Culex abundance in Chicago, Illinois. Larvae were sampled from 60 catch basins from June 14 to October 3, 2009. Density of shrubs and 14 tree genera surrounding the basins were quantified, as well as aquatic chemistry content of each basin.ResultsWe demonstrate that the spatial pattern of Culex abundance in catch basins is strongly influenced by environmental characteristics, resulting in significant variation across the urban landscape. Using regression and machine learning techniques, we described landscape features and microhabitat characteristics of four Chicago neighborhoods and examined the implications of these measures for larval abundance in adjacent catch basins. The important positive predictors of high larval abundance were aquatic ammonia, nitrates, and area of shrubs of height <1 m surrounding the catch basins, whereas pH and area of flowering shrub were negatively correlated with larval abundance. Tree density, particularly of arborvitae, maple, and pear, also positively influenced the distribution of Culex during the fruit-bearing periods and early senescent periods in August and September.ConclusionsThis study identifies environmental predictors of mosquito production in urban environments. Because an abundance of adult Culex is integral to efficient WNV transmission and mosquitoes are found in especially high densities near larval habitats, identifying aquatic sites for Culex and landscape features that promote larval production are important in predicting the spatial pattern of cases of human and veterinary illness. Thus, these data enable accurate assessment of regions at risk for exposure to WNV and aid in the prevention of vector-borne disease transmission.

Understanding how human land use patterns influence mosquito ecology and the risk of mosquito-borne pathogens is critical for the development of disease management strategies. We examined how different environments influenced mosquito species composition, abundance, and West Nile virus (WNV) infection rates in central Illinois. Using a combination of gravid traps and CDC light traps, adult mosquitoes were collected every other week from June 24 to September 16, 2012, in four major land use categories-row crops, prairies, forest fragments, and residential neighborhoods. The mosquitoes were identified to species morphologically, and pools of pure and mixed Culex mosquitoes (primarily Culex pipiens and Culex restuans) were tested for WNV-RNA by qRT-PCR. Mosquito species diversity was significantly higher in forest habitats compared to residential, agricultural, and prairie land use categories. All the four landscape types were equally important habitats for WNV vectors Cx. pipiens and Cx. restuans, contrary to previous findings that these species principally inhabit the residential areas. WNV-infected mosquito pools were observed in all land use types, and the infection rates overlapped among land use categories. Although our findings support the importance of residential habitats for WNV transmission to humans, they also establish that prairie, row crops, and wood lots are potentially important refuges for enzootic transmission. This is particularly important in urban ecosystems where these land use categories are small, interspersed fragments serving as potential refuge sites during periods of low rainfall.

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