The effect of temperature on Anopheles mosquito population dynamics and the potential for malaria transmission

PLoS One. 2013 Nov 14;8(11):e79276. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0079276. eCollection 2013.

Abstract

The parasites that cause malaria depend on Anopheles mosquitoes for transmission; because of this, mosquito population dynamics are a key determinant of malaria risk. Development and survival rates of both the Anopheles mosquitoes and the Plasmodium parasites that cause malaria depend on temperature, making this a potential driver of mosquito population dynamics and malaria transmission. We developed a temperature-dependent, stage-structured delayed differential equation model to better understand how climate determines risk. Including the full mosquito life cycle in the model reveals that the mosquito population abundance is more sensitive to temperature than previously thought because it is strongly influenced by the dynamics of the juvenile mosquito stages whose vital rates are also temperature-dependent. Additionally, the model predicts a peak in abundance of mosquitoes old enough to vector malaria at more accurate temperatures than previous models. Our results point to the importance of incorporating detailed vector biology into models for predicting the risk for vector borne diseases.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Algorithms
  • Animals
  • Anopheles* / parasitology
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Larva
  • Malaria / transmission*
  • Models, Theoretical*
  • Population Density
  • Population Dynamics
  • Temperature*

Grants and funding

This research was supported by United States Department of Agriculture National Research Initiative 2006-35302-17149 to ONB, www.usda.gov, and by National Science Foundation-EID program grant EF-0914384 to MBT and AFR, www.nsf.gov. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish or preparation of the manuscript.