Abstract
Understanding the temporal dynamics of mosquito populations underlying malaria transmission is key to optimising control strategies. We collate mosquito time-series catch data spanning 40 years and 117 locations across India to understand the factors driving these dynamics. Our analyses reveal pronounced variation in dynamics across locations and between species. Many mosquito populations lacked the often-assumed positive relationship with rainfall, instead displaying patterns of abundance that were only weakly or even negatively correlated with precipitation and highlighting the role of temperature, proximity to perennial bodies of water and patterns of land use in shaping the dynamics and seasonality of mosquito populations. We show that these diverse dynamics can be clustered into “dynamical archetypes”, each characterised by distinct temporal properties and driven by a largely unique set of environmental factors. These results highlight that a complex interplay of factors, rather than rainfall alone, shape the timing and extent of mosquito population seasonality.
Competing Interest Statement
The authors have declared no competing interest.
Funding Statement
CW is supported by an MRC Doctoral Training Partnership PhD grant.
Author Declarations
I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained.
Yes
The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below:
Not relevant as systematic review of entomological (mosquito) data.
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Yes
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Yes
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Yes
Data Availability
Data will be made open access and fully available upon publication in a peer-reviewed journal.