Date of Award

2024-12-01

Degree Name

Master of Science

Department

Biological Sciences

Advisor(s)

Sourav Roy

Abstract

AAedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus are two medically relevant species of mosquitoes that can transmit several arboviruses that affect human health. Ae. aegypti is a vector for viral diseases such as Dengue, Yellow Fever, Chikungunya, and Zika, while Cx. quinquefasciatus is a vector for West Nile and Saint Louis Encephalitis. Both species are mostly found in urban environments and are affected by several anthropogenic factors such as the presence of artificial containers and overall changes to the native landscape. Little research is done on the ecology of these two species in the Chihuahuan desert, which has some areas that are urbanized and have both species present. The Chihuahuan desert is also expected to have decreased annual rainfall and warmer temperatures as global temperatures continue to rise. More efforts to understand their seasonal fluctuation as well as the factors that influence their abundance is needed to better understand when both species are most abundant and when vector control practices should occur. Furthermore, understanding their seasonal fluctuations is important in predicting their abundances under different climate change trajectories for global climate change future abundances since many species of insects’ distributions and abundance are expected to shift. Here I model the abundance of Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus females from data that was collected during 2014-2018 and 2021-2022 in El Paso Co., Texas. I investigated climate variables that could best predict the abundance that were recorded at both a small household scale, and a larger neighborhood scale (1 km). Climate variables that were used to model both species consisted of Minimum Temperature, Minimum Relative Humidity, Precipitation, and Normalized Vegetation Difference Index (NDVI). With these variables, I was able to model the abundances for both species under different climate change scenarios and found that populations of Culex quinquefasciatus are expected to increase significantly by the year 2075 if average temperatures increase by ~3°C Understanding the seasonal abundance of both species and their potential future abundances under different climate scenarios could better assist in the assessment of periods of time where humans are at most risk to being exposed to arboviruses as well as inform future policy on the potential risks global climate change has on public health.

Language

en

Provenance

Recieved from ProQuest

File Size

86 p.

File Format

application/pdf

Rights Holder

Kevyn Amezcua

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