Effects of seasonality and land use on the diversity, relative abundance, and distribution of mosquitoes on St. Kitts, West Indies

Parasites & Vectors

Charlie Arnot¹  Patrick J. Kelly²  Gregory R. Jacobs³  Courtney C. Murdock⁴  Matthew J. Valentine⁵  Brenda Ciraola⁵ 

[1] CNWA Consulting, Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis;Department of Clinical Sciences, Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine, Island Main Road, West Farm, Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis;Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, 30602, Athens, GA, USA;River Basin Center, Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, 30602, Athens, Ga, USA;Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, 30602, Athens, GA, USA;River Basin Center, Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, 30602, Athens, Ga, USA;Department of Infectious Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, 30602, Athens, GA, USA;Center for Ecology of Infectious Diseases, Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, 30602, Athens, GA, USA;Center for Tropical Emerging and Global Diseases, University of Georgia, 30602, Athens, GA, USA;Center for Vaccines and Immunology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, 30602, Athens, GA, USA;Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell University, 14853, Ithaca, NY, USA;One Health Centre for Zoonoses and Tropical Veterinary Medicine, Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine, Island Main Road, West Farm, Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis;

关键词: Caribbean;    Land cover;    Model;    Mosquito;    Precipitation;    Season;    Surveillance;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s13071-020-04421-7

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundMosquito surveys that collect local data on mosquito species’ abundances provide baseline data to help understand potential host-pathogen-mosquito relationships, predict disease transmission, and target mosquito control efforts.MethodsWe conducted an adult mosquito survey from November 2017 to March 2019 on St. Kitts, using Biogents Sentinel 2 traps, set monthly and run for 48-h intervals. We collected mosquitoes from a total of 30 sites distributed across agricultural, mangrove, rainforest, scrub and urban land covers. We investigated spatial variation in mosquito species richness across the island using a hierarchical Bayesian multi-species occupancy model. We developed a mixed effects negative binomial regression model to predict the effects of spatial variation in land cover, and seasonal variation in precipitation on observed counts of the most abundant mosquito species observed.ResultsThere was high variation among sites in mosquito community structure, and variation in site level richness that correlated with scrub forest, agricultural, and urban land covers. The four most abundant species were Aedes taeniorhynchus, Culex quinquefasciatus, Aedes aegpyti and Deinocerites magnus, and their relative abundance varied with season and land cover. Aedes aegypti was the most commonly occurring mosquito on the island, with a 90% probability of occurring at between 24 and 30 (median = 26) sites. Mangroves yielded the most mosquitoes, with Ae. taeniorhynchus, Cx. quinquefasciatus and De. magnus predominating. Psorophora pygmaea and Toxorhynchites guadeloupensis were only captured in scrub habitat. Capture rates in rainforests were low. Our count models also suggested the extent to which monthly average precipitation influenced counts varied according to species.ConclusionsThere is high seasonality in mosquito abundances, and land cover influences the diversity, distribution, and relative abundance of species on St. Kitts. Further, human-adapted mosquito species (e.g. Ae. aegypti and Cx. quinquefasciatus) that are known vectors for many human relevant pathogens (e.g. chikungunya, dengue and Zika viruses in the case of Ae. aegypti; West Nile, Spondweni, Oropouche virus, and equine encephalitic viruses in the case of Cx. quinqefasciatus) are the most wide-spread (across land covers) and the least responsive to seasonal variation in precipitation.

【 授权许可】

CC BY