Spatial-Temporal Population Dynamics of Male and Female Aedes Albopictus at a Local Scale in Medellín, Colombia

Background: Diseases transmitted by invasive Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes are major public health issues in the tropics and subtropics. Understanding the ecology of mosquito vectors is essential for the development of effective disease mitigation programs and will allow for accurate predictions of vector occurrence and abundance. Studies that examine mosquito population dynamics are typically focused on female presence or total adult captures without discriminating the temporal and spatial distribution of both sexes. Methods: We collected immature and adult mosquitoes twice monthly during a two-year period (2018 – 2019) in the Medellín Botanical Garden (Medellín, Colombia) and assessed: 1) the relationship between climatic variables/vegetation coverage and adult captures, 2) the temporal and spatial distribution of Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus during the study period, 3) the temporal and spatial distribution of Ae. albopictus males and females, and 4) the correlation of male and female size in relation to climatic variables and vegetation coverage. Results: We show that Ae. albopictus was the predominant species in the park during the study period. Adult captures were positively correlated with precipitation and relative humidity, and inversely correlated with temperature and wind speed. Spatial analysis showed that Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus were distributed at different locations within the surveilled area. Moreover, we observed a spatial misalignment of Ae. albopictus males and females—the majority of males were located in the high vegetation coverage sites and the females in the medium vegetation coverage sites. Conclusions: Our work elucidates the differential dynamics of Ae. albopictus males and females, which is pivotal to develop accurate surveillance and the successful establishment of vector control programs based on the disruption of insect reproduction.