Dharmamuthuraja, D and Rohini, PD and Iswarya Lakshmi, M and Isvaran, K and Ghosh, SK and Ishtiaq, F (2023) Determinants of Aedes mosquito larval ecology in a heterogeneous urban environment- a longitudinal study in Bengaluru, India. In: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 17 (11).
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Abstract
Background Aedes-borne disease risk is associated with contemporary urbanization practices where city developing structures function as a catalyst for creating mosquito breeding habitats. We lack better understanding on how the links between landscape ecology and urban geography contribute to the prevalence and abundance of mosquito and pathogen spread. Methods An outdoor longitudinal study in Bengaluru (Karnataka, India) was conducted between February 2021 and June 2022 to examine the effects of macrohabitat types on the diversity and distribution of larval habitats, mosquito species composition, and body size to quantify the risk of dengue outbreak in the landscape context. Findings A total of 8,717 container breeding sites were inspected, of these 1,316 were wet breeding habitats. A total of 1,619 mosquito larvae representing 16 species from six macrohabitats and nine microhabitats were collected. Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus were the dominant species and significantly higher in artificial habitats than in natural habitats. Breeding preference ratio for Aedes species was high in grinding stones and storage containers. The Aedes infestation indices were higher than the WHO threshold and showed significant linear increase from Barren habitat to High density areas. We found Ae. albopictus breeding in sympatry with Ae. aegypti had shorter wing length. Conclusions A large proportion of larval habitats were man-made artificial containers. Landscape ecology drives mosquito diversity and abundance even at a small spatial scale which could be affecting the localized outbreaks. Our findings showed that sampling strategies for mosquito surveillance must include urban environments with non-residential locations and dengue transmission reduction programmes should focus on �neighbourhood surveillance� as well to prevent and control the rising threat of Aedes-borne diseases. © 2023 Dharmamuthuraja et al.
| Item Type: | Journal Article |
|---|---|
| Publication: | PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases |
| Publisher: | Public Library of Science |
| Additional Information: | The copyright for this article belongs to author. |
| Keywords: | adult; Aedes; Aedes aegypti; Aedes albopictus; animal experiment; Article; Bengaluru; body mass; body size; breeding; breeding preference ratio; data analysis; ecological niche; female; heterogeneous urban environment; India; Karnataka; Kruskal Wallis test; landscape ecology; larva; longitudinal study; macrohabitat; microbial community; microclimate; microhabitat; mosquito; neighborhood; nonhuman; pH measurement; relative humidity; seasonal variation; species composition; species richness; temperature; urban area; wing length; winged insect; animal; dengue; ecosystem; human; larva; mosquito vector, Aedes; Animals; Dengue; Ecosystem; Humans; India; Larva; Longitudinal Studies; Mosquito Vectors |
| Department/Centre: | Division of Biological Sciences > Centre for Ecological Sciences |
| Date Deposited: | 29 Feb 2024 06:26 |
| Last Modified: | 29 Feb 2024 06:26 |
| URI: | https://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/83750 |
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