Mosquito Population Dynamics and Blood Host Associations in Two Types of Urban Greenspaces in Coastal Florida
Urban greenspaces, including residential parks and conservation areas, provide ecological and recreational benefits. This study reports mosquito surveillance and blood meal analysis data from greenspaces in Vero Beach, Florida. It also compares mosquito assemblages and host associations across resid...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Insects |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/16/3/233 |
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| Summary: | Urban greenspaces, including residential parks and conservation areas, provide ecological and recreational benefits. This study reports mosquito surveillance and blood meal analysis data from greenspaces in Vero Beach, Florida. It also compares mosquito assemblages and host associations across residential and conservation greenspaces to assess how greenspace type impacts mosquito abundance and host interactions. Using CO<sub>2</sub>-baited traps and large-diameter aspirators, mosquitoes were collected over 26 sampling weeks (February–December 2023) yielding over 19,000 female mosquitoes from 32 species. Although mosquito species richness and community composition were similar across greenspace types, relative abundance of some key vector and nuisance species differed significantly. For example, <i>Aedes taeniorhynchus</i> was more common in preserved coastal wetland greenspaces, while <i>Aedes aegypti</i> and <i>Aedes albopictus</i> were more common in residential greenspaces. Generalized linear models revealed the impacts of climatic variables on the abundance of many key mosquito species. Blood meal analyses showed that host associations did not vary significantly by greenspace type, suggesting stable mosquito–host interactions across the landscape. These results highlight that greenspaces are not uniform in their mosquito species composition. Further studies on the effects of different greenspace types on mosquito communities can help to identify urban landscape features that minimize mosquito-borne disease risk. |
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| ISSN: | 2075-4450 |