Abstract
Anthropogenic landscape transformation has an important effect on vector-borne pathogen transmission. However, the effects of urbanization on mosquito communities are still only poorly known. Here, we evaluate how land-use characteristics are related to the abundance and community composition of mosquitoes in an area with endemic circulation of numerous mosquito-borne pathogens. We collected 340 829 female mosquitoes belonging to 13 species at 45 localities spatially grouped in 15 trios formed by 1 urban, 1 rural and 1 natural area. Mosquito abundance and species richness were greater in natural and rural areas than in urban areas. Environmental factors including land use, vegetation and hydrological characteristics were related to mosquito abundance and community composition. Given the differing competences of each species in pathogen transmission, these results provide valuable information on the transmission potential of mosquito-borne pathogens that will be of great use in public and animal health management by allowing, for instance, the identification of the priority areas for pathogen surveillance and vector control.
Highlights
Anthropogenic landscape transformation has an important effect on vector-borne pathogen transmission
Measuring mosquito abundance in the field is time consuming and financially expensive and so remote sensing variables provide an effective way for identifying which areas are most prone to harbouring significant populations of certain mosquito species[34]
We found strong support for the impact of urbanization on mosquito abundance and community composition and identified some key environmental variables that potentially affect these associations
Summary
Anthropogenic landscape transformation has an important effect on vector-borne pathogen transmission. We evaluate how land-use characteristics are related to the abundance and community composition of mosquitoes in an area with endemic circulation of numerous mosquito-borne pathogens. The transmission dynamics of vector-borne pathogens are determined by the interactions between the pathogens, vectors and vertebrate hosts, and are influenced by environmental and socio-ecological drivers[4]. Factors such as vector abundance and species distribution are crucial for determining the distribution and incidence of vector-borne diseases[5]. Understanding how environmental variables influence the distribution of mosquitoes is a key issue in disease ecology, especially since anthropogenic changes in climate and landscape (global change) are affecting the distribution and incidence of vector-borne pathogens[9]. The increased dominance of a few key species, both vector and/or host species, and the www.nature.com/scientificreports/
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