Effects of land use and weather on the presence and abundance of mosquito-borne disease vectors in a urban and agricultural landscape in Eastern Ontario, Canada.

Miarisoa Rindra Rakotoarinia,Patrick A. Leighton,Nicholas H. Ogden,Antoinette Ludwig,F. Guillaume Blanchet,Dominique Gravel,David R. Lapen,Ahmed Ibrahim Hasaballah

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0262376

Miarisoa Rindra Rakotoarinia, Patrick A. Leighton + Show 6 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0262376

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Abstract

Weather and land use can significantly impact mosquito abundance and presence, and by consequence, mosquito-borne disease (MBD) dynamics. Knowledge of vector ecology and mosquito species response to these drivers will help us better predict risk from MBD. In this study, we evaluated and compared the independent and combined effects of weather and land use on mosquito species occurrence and abundance in Eastern Ontario, Canada. Data on occurrence and abundance (245,591 individuals) of 30 mosquito species were obtained from mosquito capture at 85 field sites in 2017 and 2018. Environmental variables were extracted from weather and land use datasets in a 1-km buffer around trapping sites. The relative importance of weather and land use on mosquito abundance (for common species) or occurrence (for all species) was evaluated using multivariate hierarchical statistical models. Models incorporating both weather and land use performed better than models that include weather only for approximately half of species (59% for occurrence model and 50% for abundance model). Mosquito occurrence was mainly associated with temperature whereas abundance was associated with precipitation and temperature combined. Land use was more often associated with abundance than occurrence. For most species, occurrence and abundance were positively associated with forest cover but for some there was a negative association. Occurrence and abundance of some species (47% for occurrence model and 88% for abundance model) were positively associated with wetlands, but negatively associated with urban (Culiseta melanura and Anopheles walkeri) and agriculture (An. quadrimaculatus, Cs. minnesotae and An. walkeri) environments. This study provides predictive relationships between weather, land use and mosquito occurrence and abundance for a wide range of species including those that are currently uncommon, yet known as arboviruses vectors. Elucidation of these relationships has the potential to contribute to better prediction of MBD risk, and thus more efficiently targeted prevention and control measures.

Highlights

Mosquitos have been considered as the most dangerous creatures worldwide [1]
Because the community-level explained variation is the average R2 across all species, it hides the significant variation in independent species (Fig 3)
It is important to determine how multiple species are influenced by these variables since models based on a single or small number of species do not provide a portrait of the whole community including rare disease vectors

Summary

Introduction

Mosquitos have been considered as the most dangerous creatures worldwide [1]. With their widespread occurrence and ability to transmit diseases, they are responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths each year. There were 74 mosquito species identified as occurring in Canada in an exhaustive list compiled in the 1980s [2]. New exotic invasive species from the United States have been repeatedly detected in southern Ontario. Aedes aegypti were detected in 2016 and 2017 in southern Ontario. These are though to be repeated introductions, with no evidence of over-winter survival, the more cold-tolerant Ae. albopictus is thought to have become established [5]

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