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  • Effects of Variability of Climatic Conditions on the Production of Mosquitoes from Urban and Rural Stormwater Infrastructure in Central Illinois
Title: Effects of Variability of Climatic Conditions on the Production of Mosquitoes from Urban and Rural Stormwater Infrastructure in Central Illinois
Variability of climatic conditions can impact numerous important public health outcomes, including the prevalence of mosquito-borne diseases such as West Nile virus (WNV). 2002 and 2003 were epidemic years for WNV in the United States, with 685 cases of the novel virus reported from Chicago, IL alone. WNV’s prevalence is most noted in urban areas due to juvenile mosquito habitats provided by subterranean stormwater drainage systems. Transmission in urban environments is favored by suitable weather conditions that stimulate and sustain mosquito reproduction and growth of vector species. Field and laboratory studies indicate that temperature is a crucial factor for suitable conditions for juvenile development, while precipitation plays a dual role: it can provide moisture necessary for aquatic habitats to persist, yet high rain rates lead to flushing of larvae out of subterranean stormwater habitats. The duration of these conditions, and locational features (i.e. topography, elevation and depth below ground), matter too. This study addresses two significant questions: 1) What is the seasonality of suitable juvenile habitat conditions across different human land-use types that employ a mixture of subterranean and surface stormwater infrastructure, and 2) Whether the seasonality of these climatic conditions for mosquito reproduction have shifted over time, which in turn affects the timing and severity of mosquito-borne disease transmission. In our study, we consider over 20 years of multi-scale observations and fine resolution spatiotemporal reanalysis data during the 7-month warm season (April-November) for five small and midsize cities in north-central Illinois. We use weather station data from Illinois State Water Survey and NCEP/EMC 4 KM Gridded Stage IV Data to track the intersection of necessary temperature and precipitation thresholds known to support mosquito reproduction in subterranean and surface stormwater systems. Our analysis will thus identify when and where risk of WNV transmission is more prevalent across the urban-to-rural land-use gradient. Such results will be helpful in identifying the timing of mosquito-borne disease risk and inform policies to curb transmission.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
2118329
PAR ID:
10689702
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ;
Publisher / Repository:
American Geophysical Union Annual Meeting 2022
Date Published:
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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