Meta-Analysis of the Relative Abundance of Nuisance and Vector Mosquitoes in Urban and Blue-Green Spaces

Rhodes, Charlotte G.; Scavo, Nicole A.; Finney, Micaela; Fimbres-Macias, Juan P.; Lively, Macey T; Strauss, Brandon H; Hamer, Gabriel L.

doi:10.3390/insects13030271

Cited by 6 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…In the very low importance class, we observed a cluster of very different variables. ‘Green urban areas’ belong to this class, although a meta-analysis on the abundance of mosquitoes comparing urban environments and green urban areas showed no significant difference between the two [ 53 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterization of environmental drivers influencing the abundance of Anopheles maculipennis complex in Northern Italy

Gilioli,

Defilippo,

Simonetto

et al. 2024

Parasites Vectors

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Background In Italy, malaria was endemic until the 1970s, when it was declared eradicated by WHO. Nowadays, with the persistence of competent mosquito populations, the effect of climate change, and increased possibility of importing malaria parasites from endemic counties due to growing migration, a malaria resurgence in Italy has become more likely. Hence, enhancing the understanding of the current distribution of the Anopheles maculipennis complex and the factors that influence the presence of this malaria vector is crucial, especially in Northern Italy, characterised by a high density of both human population and livestock. Methods To assess the presence and abundance of malaria vectors, a 4-year field survey in the plain areas of Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna region in Italy was conducted. Every sampling point was characterised in space by the land use in a 500-m radius and in time considering meteorological data collected in the short and long time periods before sampling. We combined the results of a linear regression model with a random forest analysis to understand the relative importance of the investigated niche dimensions in determining Anopheles mosquito presence and abundance. Results The estimated normalised variable importance indicates that rice fields were the most important land use class explaining the presence of Anopheles, followed by transitional woodlands and shrubland. Farm buildings were the third variable in terms of importance, likely because of the presence of animal shelters, followed by urbanised land. The two most important meteorological variables influencing the abundance of Anopheles in our study area were mean temperature in the 24 h before the sampling date and the sum of degree-days with temperature between 18 °C and 30 °C in the 14 days before the sampling date. Conclusions The results obtained in this study could be helpful in predicting the risk of autochthonous malaria transmission, based on local information on land cover classes that might facilitate the presence of malaria vectors and presence of short- and medium-term meteorological conditions favourable to mosquito development and activity. The results can support the design of vector control measures through environmental management. Graphical Abstract

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterization of environmental drivers influencing the abundance of Anopheles maculipennis complex in Northern Italy

Gilioli,

Defilippo,

Simonetto

et al. 2024

Parasites Vectors

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“…Additionally, the HLCs in this study were conducted in small natural areas, embedded within residential areas. Additional studies are needed to ascertain any influence of HLCs on mosquito ecology within these two intersecting habitats [ 29 ]. This study analyzed the results of landing rates based on four human collectors.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The sites also met the study criteria for locations where mosquito-human spillover likely occurs in the Midwest USA for two reasons: (i) all locations were composed of heterogeneous landscapes consisting of a mix of domestic and peri-domestic built space, a body of water (e.g. pond, river) and natural green spaces rich with numerous avian species [ 29 , 30 ]; and (ii) humans were abundant and engaging in a variety of activities (e.g. resting to physical activity).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Human biting mosquitoes and implications for West Nile virus transmission

et al. 2023

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Background West Nile virus (WNV), primarily vectored by mosquitoes of the genus Culex, is the most important mosquito-borne pathogen in North America, having infected thousands of humans and countless wildlife since its arrival in the USA in 1999. In locations with dedicated mosquito control programs, surveillance methods often rely on frequent testing of mosquitoes collected in a network of gravid traps (GTs) and CO2-baited light traps (LTs). Traps specifically targeting oviposition-seeking (e.g. GTs) and host-seeking (e.g. LTs) mosquitoes are vulnerable to trap bias, and captured specimens are often damaged, making morphological identification difficult. Methods This study leverages an alternative mosquito collection method, the human landing catch (HLC), as a means to compare sampling of potential WNV vectors to traditional trapping methods. Human collectors exposed one limb for 15 min at crepuscular periods (5:00–8:30 am and 6:00–9:30 pm daily, the time when Culex species are most actively host-seeking) at each of 55 study sites in suburban Chicago, Illinois, for two summers (2018 and 2019). Results A total of 223 human-seeking mosquitoes were caught by HLC, of which 46 (20.6%) were mosquitoes of genus Culex. Of these 46 collected Culex specimens, 34 (73.9%) were Cx. salinarius, a potential WNV vector species not thought to be highly abundant in upper Midwest USA. Per trapping effort, GTs and LTs collected > 7.5-fold the number of individual Culex specimens than HLC efforts. Conclusions The less commonly used HLC method provides important insight into the complement of human-biting mosquitoes in a region with consistent WNV epidemics. This study underscores the value of the HLC collection method as a complementary tool for surveillance to aid in WNV vector species characterization. However, given the added risk to the collector, novel mitigation methods or alternative approaches must be explored to incorporate HLC collections safely and strategically into control programs. Graphical Abstract

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“…Additionally, HLCs in this study were conducted in small natural areas, embedded within residential areas. Additional studies are needed to ascertain any in uence on mosquito ecology within these two intersecting habitats [29].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…all locations were composed of heterogeneous landscapes consisting of a mix of domestic and peri-domestic built space, a body of water (e.g. pond, river), and natural green spaces rich with numerous avian species [29,30], and 2.) humans were abundant and engaging in a variety of activities (e.g.…”

Section: Study Sitesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Human biting mosquitoes and implications for WNV transmission

Uelmen

Lamcyzk

Irwin

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Background: West Nile virus (WNV), primarily vectored from Culex genus mosquitoes, is the most important mosquito-borne pathogen in North America, infecting thousands of humans and countless wildlife since its arrival in 1999. In locations with dedicated mosquito control programs, surveillance methods often rely on frequent testing of mosquitoes collected from a network of gravid traps (GTs) and CO2-baited light traps (LTs). Traps targeting oviposition-seeking (e.g. GTs) and host-seeking (e.g. LTs) mosquitoes are vulnerable to trap bias, and captured specimens are often damaged, making morphological identification difficult. Methods: This study leverages an alternative mosquito collection method, the human landing catch (HLC), as a means to compare sampling of potential WNV vectors to traditional trapping methods. Human collectors exposed one limb for 15 minutes at crepuscular periods (5:00-8:30am and 6:00-9:30pm daily, the time when Culex species are most actively host-seeking) at each of 55 sites in suburban Chicago, Illinois, for two summers (2018-2019). Results: HLC collections resulted in 223 human seeking mosquitoes, of which 46 (20.6%) were Culex. Of the 46 collected Culex, 34 (73.9%) were Culex salinarius, a potential WNV vector species not thought to be highly abundant in the upper Midwestern United States. Per trapping effort, GTs and LTs collect greater than 7.5 times the number of individual Culex specimens than HLC efforts. Conclusions: The less-commonly used HLC method provides important insight into the complement of human-biting mosquitoes in a region with consistent WNV epidemics. This study underscores the value of HLC collection methods as a complementary tool for surveillance to aid in WNV vector species characterization. However, given the added risk to the collector, novel mitigation methods or alternatives approaches must be explored to incorporate HLC collections safely and strategically into control programs.

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Meta-Analysis of the Relative Abundance of Nuisance and Vector Mosquitoes in Urban and Blue-Green Spaces

Cited by 6 publications

References 42 publications

Characterization of environmental drivers influencing the abundance of Anopheles maculipennis complex in Northern Italy

Characterization of environmental drivers influencing the abundance of Anopheles maculipennis complex in Northern Italy

Human biting mosquitoes and implications for West Nile virus transmission

Human biting mosquitoes and implications for WNV transmission

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