The influence of habitat structure on mosquito diversity and abundance

Mosquitoes are important vectors of many diseases, including in the United States the West Nile virus as vectored by Culex mosquitoes and potentially zika, dengue, and chikungunya viruses vectored by Aedes mosquitoes. When vector populations become more abundant, their impact on human health increases through increased bite nuisance and pathogen transmission. The objective of this study was to determine any ecological variables associated with mosquito abundance and diversity across multiple geographic scales. In collaboration with the Zoonotic Disease Program of the Ohio Department of Health, we are assessing the patterns in shifting vector abundance and diversity of adults collected from May to September, 2018 to 2020, throughout the state of Ohio. We are also focusing on data from a single county within the state of Ohio to determine if any meteorological or environmental data could predict changes in mosquito abundance. In addition to this collaboration, we set out 6 sentinel traps at 6 different sites around Granville, Ohio. The sites were selected based on full factorial representation of the amount of anthropogenic land coverage (high, medium, low) and distance to water (far, near). These data are currently being analyzed. Preliminary evidence shows mosquito populations peak in July, Culex sp. are the most common group of mosquitoes collected, Aedes japonicus is the most common non-Culex sp. mosquito collected, and the county with the highest diversity of mosquitoes also had the highest incidence of mosquitoes testing positive for West Nile virus.