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Trends in mosquito species distribution modeling: insights for vector surveillance and disease control

This image shows the title and authors of the article. Above them is a red bar that says "Research" and "Open Access". Below the text is a map. The countries in grayscale represent the number of Species Distribution Model studies conducted at the national or subnational level. Light gray is 1 to 4 studies while dark gray is 11 to 17 studies. On top of each country are pie charts of the mosquito genera modeled in the studies. The five colors used in the chart are blue for Aedes, pink for Anopheles, yellow for Culex, green for Multiple Species, and purple for Other.

LIPPI, MUNDIS, SIPPY, FLENNIKEN, CHAUDHARY, HECHT, RYAN – Trends in mosquito species distribution modeling: insights for vector surveillance and disease control

Catherine Lippi, Stephanie Mundis, Rachel Sippy, Matthew Flenniken, Anusha Chaudhary, Gavriella Hecht, Colin Carlson, Sadie Ryan

Article first published online: 28 August 2023

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-023-05912-z

ABSTRACT: Species distribution modeling (SDM) has become an increasingly common approach to explore questions about ecology, geography, outbreak risk, and global change as they relate to infectious disease vectors. Here, we conducted a systematic review of the scientific literature, screening 563 abstracts and identifying 204 studies that used SDMs to produce distribution estimates for mosquito species. While the number of studies employing SDM methods has increased markedly over the past decade, the overwhelming majority used a single method (maximum entropy modeling; MaxEnt) and focused on human infectious disease vectors or their close relatives. The majority of regional models were developed for areas in Africa and Asia, while more localized modeling efforts were most common for North America and Europe. Findings from this study highlight gaps in taxonomic, geographic, and methodological foci of current SDM literature for mosquitoes that can guide future efforts to study the geography of mosquito-borne disease risk.

Read the full publication in Parasites and Vectors.