St Kitts Mosquito Survey and Model November 2017 to March 2019

<p>Background: High quality mosquito surveys that collect fine resolution local data on<br> mosquito species' abundances provide baseline data to help us understand potential<br> host-pathogen-mosquito relationships, accurately predict disease transmission, and<br> target mosquito control efforts in areas at risk of mosquito borne diseases.</p> <p>Methods: As part of an investigation into arboviral sylvatic cycles on the Caribbean<br> island of St. Kitts, we carried out an island wide mosquito survey from November 2017<br> to March 2019. Using Biogents Sentinel 2 and miniature CDC light traps that were set<br> monthly and run for 48 hour intervals, we collected mosquitoes from a total of 30 sites<br> distributed across the five common land covers on the island (agricultural, mangrove,<br> rainforest, scrub, and urban). We developed a mixed effects negative binomial<br> regression model to predict the effects of land cover, seasonality, and precipitation on<br> observed counts of the most abundant mosquito species we found.</p> <p>Results: We captured 10 of the 14 mosquito species reported on the island, the four<br> most abundant being Aedes taeniorhynchus , Culex quinquefasciatus , Aedes<br> aegpyti , and Deinocerites magnus. Sampling in the mangroves yielded the most<br> mosquitoes, with Ae. taeniorhynchus, Cx. quinquefasciatus, and De. magnus<br> predominating. Aedes aegypti was recovered primarily from urban and agricultural<br> habitats, but also at lower frequency in other land covers. Psorophora pygmaea and<br> Toxorhynchites guadeloupensis were only captured in scrub habitat. Capture rates in<br> rainforests were low. Our models indicated the relative abundance of the four most<br> common species varied seasonally and with land cover. They also suggested that the<br> extent to which monthly average precipitation influenced counts varied according to<br> species.</p> <p>Conclusions: This study demonstrates there is high seasonality in mosquito<br> abundances and that land cover influenced the distribution and abundance of mosquito<br> species on St. Kitts. Further, human-adapted mosquito species (e.g. Ae. aegypti and<br> Cx. quinquefasciatus ) that are known vectors for many human relevant pathogens are<br> the most wide-spread (across land covers) and the least responsive to seasonal<br> variation in precipitation.</p>