Urbanization favors the proliferation of Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus in urban areas of Miami-Dade County, Florida

Abstract

Urbanization processes are increasing globally. Anthropogenic alterations in the environment have profound effects on biodiversity. Decreased biodiversity due to biotic homogenization processes as a consequence of urbanization often result in increased levels of mosquito vector species and vector-borne pathogen transmission. Understanding how anthropogenic alterations in the environment will affect the abundance, richness, and composition of vector mosquito species is crucial for the implementation of effective and targeted mosquito control strategies. We hypothesized that anthropogenic alterations in the environment are responsible for increasing the abundance of mosquito species that are adapted to urban environments such as Aedesaegypti and Culexquinquefasciatus. Therefore, our objective was to survey mosquito relative abundance, richness, and community composition in Miami-Dade County, Florida, in areas with different levels of urbanization. We selected 24 areas, 16 remote areas comprised of natural and rural areas, and 8 urban areas comprised of residential and touristic areas in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Mosquitoes were collected weekly in each area for 24 h for 5 consecutive weeks from August to October 2020 using BG-Sentinel traps baited with dry ice. A total of 36,645 mosquitoes were collected, from which 34,048 were collected in the remote areas and 2,597 in the urban areas. Our results show a clear and well-defined pattern of abundance, richness, and community composition according to anthropogenic modifications in land use and land cover. The more urbanized a given area the fewer species were found and those were primary vectors of arboviruses, Ae.aegypti and Cx.quinquefasciatus.

Spatiotemporal Distribution of Vector Mosquito Species and Areas at Risk for Arbovirus Transmission in Maricopa County, Arizona

“…Anthropogenic changes in the environment create favorable conditions for the development of vector mosquito species that can exploit the resources available in 13 urban areas [26]. The decreased biodiversity in those urban areas increases the contact rate between mosquito vector species and human hosts, increasing the risk of arbovirus transmission to humans [14,27,28].…”

“…The copyright holder for this preprint (which this version posted July 28, 2022. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.07.28.501907 doi: bioRxiv preprint urban areas [26]. The decreased biodiversity in those urban areas increases the contact rate between mosquito vector species and human hosts, increasing the risk of arbovirus transmission to humans [14,27,28].…”

Finding a chink in the armor: Update, limitations, and challenges toward successful antivirals against flaviviruses

“…Simpson and colleagues hypothesized that an emerging disease X would be a zoonotic virus, most likely a virulent RNA virus [ 7 ]. Among the zoonotic viruses, the mosquito-borne viruses, including flaviviruses, are on exponential growth due to climate change [ 8 , 9 ], urbanization [ 10 , 11 ], and increased international travel [ 12 , 13 ].…”

Landscape Composition Affects Elements of Metacommunity Structure for Culicidae Across South-Eastern Illinois

“…The link between landscape composition and how it affects mosquito species assemblages and in turn the transmission intensity of vector-borne pathogens is an area of active study ( 28 – 30 ). A number of studies have explored the composition of mosquito communities in different habitats, for instance focusing on differences in species composition among different environments such as forest, field, or ecotone environments, or along urbanization gradients ( 18 , 31 – 33 ). Relatively few studies however have assessed how invasive species such as Ae.…”