British container breeding mosquitoes: the impact of urbanisation and climate change on community composition and phenology.

ABSTRACT: The proliferation of artificial container habitats in urban areas has benefitted urban adaptable mosquito species globally. In areas where mosquitoes transmit viruses and parasites, it can promote vector population productivity and fuel mosquito-borne disease outbreaks. In Britain, storage of water in garden water butts is increasing, potentially expanding mosquito larval habitats and influencing population dynamics and mosquito-human contact. Here we show that the community composition, abundance and phenology of mosquitoes breeding in experimental water butt containers were influenced by urbanisation. Mosquitoes in urban containers were less species-rich but present in significantly higher densities (100.4±21.3) per container than those in rural containers (77.7±15.1). Urban containers w

SUBMITTER: Townroe S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3997353 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature