Taylor McClanahan, a student at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, worked with Dr. Courtney Murdock and members of her lab to examine how microclimate affects mosquitoes.
Abstract: Aedes albopictus, (Asian tiger mosquito), has successfully colonized in several countries in North and South America. Ae. albopictus is a highly efficient vector, capable of transmitting at least 27 different arboviruses, and is contributing to the global expansion of both dengue and Chikungunya. However, whether or not dengue or Chikungunya will emerge in a given area will depend on its interaction with local mosquito populations and local environmental conditions. The aim of this study was to characterize variation in local climate conditions and how this variation impacts Ae. albopictus traits important for transmission. An impervious surface map of Athens-Clarke County was used to select three urban, suburban, and rural sites (30m2). Six pots were placed (>10 m apart) at each site in full shade, filled with 200 ml leaf infusion, seeded with 30 Ae. albopictus larvae, and paired with a data logger on the inside and outside of the pot. All pots were checked daily for emerging adults, and any adults present were counted and removed. Urban sites were characterized by the following: warmer daily mean and minimum temperatures, decreased daily diurnal temperature variation, earlier adult emergence, and lower numbers of emerging adults relative to suburban and rural sites. Further, weather station temperature data were not necessarily a good predictor of mosquito microclimate across the three land uses. This cautions against the use of downscaled global climate patterns in predicting how vector-borne diseases may respond to current and future climate change. Ultimately, we see that microclimate data generates a more precise representation of the environments these mosquitoes inhabit.