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

该项目将确定和评价城市化如何改变调节蚊子生产的生态系统功能，特别是那些传播致病剂的物种。它将探索城市生境特征如何促进蚊子幼虫和优先以人类为食的嗜血成虫的产生。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。该研究将使用一个层次贝叶斯统计框架来量化一个共同流域内不同地点的城市和农村蚊子产量差异，并为该地区蚊子种群动态预测模型奠定基础。在过去十年中，城市环境中蚊子传播疾病的风险有所上升，北美的西尼罗河病毒和全球其他新出现的病原体就是例证。了解决定蚊子物种多样性和种群丰度时空分布的因素，特别是与城市发展有关的因素，对于理解和管理蚊媒疾病的生态至关重要。该项目将资助培养一名博士后研究员，并支持建立一名有前途的初级女性研究员。

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.