Updated distribution maps of predominant Culex mosquitoes across the Americas

Background Estimates of the geographical distribution of Culex mosquitoes in the Americas have been limited to state and provincial levels in the United States and Canada and based on data from the 1980s. Since these estimates were made, there have been many more documented observations of mosquitoe...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Parasites & vectors Vol. 14; no. 1; p. 547
Main Authors:	Gorris, Morgan E., Bartlow, Andrew W., Temple, Seth D., Romero-Alvarez, Daniel, Shutt, Deborah P., Fair, Jeanne M., Kaufeld, Kimberly A., Del Valle, Sara Y., Manore, Carrie A.
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	London BioMed Central 23.10.2021 BioMed Central Ltd Springer Nature B.V BMC
Subjects:	Americas Animal Distribution Animals Aquatic insects BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES Biological Science Biomedical and Life Sciences Biomedicine Canada climate Climate Change Computer Science Culex Culex - classification Culex - parasitology Culex - physiology Culex - virology Culex erraticus Culex nigripalpus Culex pipiens Culex quinquefasciatus Culex restuans Culex salinarius Culex tarsalis Culicidae Datasets Dipteran vectors and associated diseases Disease Distribution Earth Sciences Ecological distribution ecological models Ecological niches Encephalitis Entomology Environmental aspects Environmental conditions Environmental factors Estimates Generalized linear models Geographical distribution Geography Habitats Health risks Humans Humid areas Humidity Infectious disease Infectious Diseases Insects as carriers of disease Land cover Land use Learning algorithms Machine Learning Mathematics Methods Mosquito Vectors - classification Mosquito Vectors - parasitology Mosquito Vectors - physiology Mosquito Vectors - virology Mosquito-borne disease mosquito-borne diseases Mosquitoes Mosquitoes as carriers of disease Niche model Niches North America Parasitology Pathogens Precipitation Public health risk Risk assessment Risk factors Rural areas Rural environments South America Species Species distribution Statistical analysis Tropical climate Tropical Medicine Urban environments Variables Vector-borne diseases Vectors Veterinary Medicine/Veterinary Science Virology Viruses West Nile virus South America Americas North America Canada United States > US Infectious disease Species distribution Mosquitoes Vectors Mosquito-borne disease Niche model
ISSN:	1756-3305, 1756-3305
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Summary:	Background Estimates of the geographical distribution of Culex mosquitoes in the Americas have been limited to state and provincial levels in the United States and Canada and based on data from the 1980s. Since these estimates were made, there have been many more documented observations of mosquitoes and new methods have been developed for species distribution modeling. Moreover, mosquito distributions are affected by environmental conditions, which have changed since the 1980s. This calls for updated estimates of these distributions to understand the risk of emerging and re-emerging mosquito-borne diseases. Methods We used contemporary mosquito data, environmental drivers, and a machine learning ecological niche model to create updated estimates of the geographical range of seven predominant Culex species across North America and South America: Culex erraticus , Culex nigripalpus , Culex pipiens , Culex quinquefasciatus , Culex restuans , Culex salinarius , and Culex tarsalis . Results We found that Culex mosquito species differ in their geographical range. Each Culex species is sensitive to both natural and human-influenced environmental factors, especially climate and land cover type. Some prefer urban environments instead of rural ones, and some are limited to tropical or humid areas. Many are found throughout the Central Plains of the USA. Conclusions Our updated contemporary Culex distribution maps may be used to assess mosquito-borne disease risk. It is critical to understand the current geographical distributions of these important disease vectors and the key environmental predictors structuring their distributions not only to assess current risk, but also to understand how they will respond to climate change. Since the environmental predictors structuring the geographical distribution of mosquito species varied, we hypothesize that each species may have a different response to climate change. Graphical abstract
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 14 content type line 23 USDOE Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program LA-UR-21-24460; LA-UR-21-24422 89233218CNA000001; 36A10C-XX6F; 36A10C-XX9E; 36A10C-XX0N; 36A10C-XX4E
ISSN:	1756-3305 1756-3305
DOI:	10.1186/s13071-021-05051-3