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Influence of Fluctuating Temperatures on Aedes invasive Mosquitoes Ecophysiology and Distribution

Project description

Temperature impact on invasive mosquitoes

Mosquitoes can transmit infections such as malaria, caused by Plasmodium parasites, and dengue fever, caused by the dengue virus. East Asian mosquito species have adapted to different climates and their spread to several European countries poses a health threat. Although mathematical models can predict distribution and disease transmission, their accuracy is compromised. Funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the IFTAMED project aims to enhance understanding of temperature impact on these mosquitoes. The work involves experiments under fluctuating temperatures, mimicking field conditions. The data will be shared in open-access databases and used to improve a population-dynamic model that can be employed to power an online early-warning system aiding mosquito control and management.

Objective

The East Asian mosquitoes species Aedes albopictus and Ae. koreicus are invading several European countries, posing an increasing threat to human and animal public health. The life cycle of mosquitoes is strongly driven by temperature, making feasible the implementation of mathematical models predicting their distribution, population dynamics, and arbovirus transmission risk to support mosquito and Mosquito-Borne Viral Diseases management and control actions. However, the model's forecast reliability and biological realism are limited by the quantity and quality of the life-history traits observations used to inform the population dynamic model. This information is collected throughout laboratory experiments trying to assess the influence of temperature on different life-history traits (e.g. temperature-dependent adult mortality rate). Nevertheless, the results have been so far highly variable, due to i) different experimental settings and ii) multiple geographic origin of the biological specimens.
IFTAMED aims to review the current knowledge on the influence of temperature on the life-history traits of Ae. albopictus and Ae. koreicus, two invasive Aedes species of medical interest with established populations in North-East Italy, and implement it by designing targeted laboratory experiments under fluctuating temperature regimes, a laboratory setting that more accurately reflect variable environmental conditions in the field but not frequently applied in mosquito thermal biology experiments. The information collected from the review and the laboratory experiments will be disseminated in open-access databases and used to inform a population-dynamic mechanistic model, whose spatial and temporal forecasts will be integrated into an online early-warning system displaying information of practical interest (e.g the estimated abundance of each life stage) for proactive mosquito control and management actions.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

Keywords

Programme(s)

Topic(s)

Funding Scheme

HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships

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Call for proposal

(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2022-PF-01

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Coordinator

FONDAZIONE EDMUND MACH
Net EU contribution
€ 188 590,08
Address
VIA E MACH 1
38098 SAN MICHELE ALL ADIGE
Italy
Region
Nord-Est Provincia Autonoma di Trento Trento
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost
No data

Partners (1)