Trophic regulation and support of mosquitoes: An ecosystem approach to pest emergence along an urban gradient

该项目将确定和评估城市化如何改变调节蚊子繁殖的生态系统功能，特别是传播致病因子的物种。它将探讨城市栖息地的特点如何促进蚊子幼虫和吸血成虫的产生，这些蚊子幼虫和吸血成虫优先以人类为食。数据将从巴尔的摩生态系统研究（BES）的城市和农村土地覆盖栖息地收集，这是一个LTER站点。一个分层贝叶斯统计框架将用于量化城市和农村蚊子生产之间的差异，在一个共同的分水岭内的网站，这项工作将建立模型的基础，以预测蚊子种群动态的区域。城市环境中的蚊媒疾病的风险在过去十年中有所上升，如在北美的西尼罗河病毒和其他新出现的病原体在地球仪。了解决定蚊子物种多样性和种群丰度的时空分布的因素，特别是与城市发展的关系，对于了解和管理蚊媒疾病的生态至关重要。该项目将有助于培训一名博士后研究员，并支持培养一名有前途的初出茅庐的女研究员。

This project will identify and evaluate how urbanization alters ecosystem functions that regulate mosquito production, especially of species that transmit disease-causing agents. It will explore how urban habitat characteristics facilitate the production of mosquito larvae and blood-seeking adults that preferentially feed on humans. Data will be collected from urban and rural land-cover habitats within the Baltimore Ecosystem Study (BES), an LTER site. A hierarchical Bayesian statistical framework will be used to quantify differences between urban and rural mosquito production at sites within a common watershed, and this work will establish the foundation for models to forecast mosquito population dynamics for the region.Mosquito-borne disease risk in urban environments has risen in the past decade, as exemplified by West Nile virus in North America and other emerging pathogens around the globe. Understanding the factors that determine the spatial and temporal distribution of mosquito species diversity and population abundances, especially in relation to urban development, is of critical importance to understanding and managing the ecology of mosquito-borne diseases. The project will contribute to the training of one post-doctoral researcher and support the establishment of a promising beginning female investigator.