TIGER MOSQUITO "spied" by SATELLITE: HERE ARE THE AREAS MOST AT RISK IN TRENTINO, southern European Alps

New research published in PlosOne: FEM-IASMA identifying areas best suited to the survival of the invasive tiger mosquito by satellite

 

TIGER MOSQUITO "spied" by SATELLITE: HERE ARE THE AREAS MOST AT RISK IN TRENTINO, southern European Alps

 

(sc) The Adige Valley, the Valley of Lakes, the area near the Idro lake and the more Southern Valsugana represent the areas in Trentino region (located in the southern european alpine chain), where climatic conditions are favorable to the presence of the tiger mosquito. The study, published recently in the PLoS ONE journal, was conducted by researchers at the Fondazione E. Mach – Agricultural Institute of San Michele Adige who used temperature data from satellite to identify the areas highly suitable for the tiger mosquito establishment in the next years due to climate change. This insect is from 2 to 10 mm long. It is visibly white and black brindled. Its main feature is the aggressiveness and the fact that they are active both day and night, even if it prefers the morning and afternoon time as feeding time. It is also reported a strong resistance to common insecticides and an uncanny ability to adapt to new environmental condition.

The authors of the publication, David Roiz, Markus Neteler, Cristina Castellani, Daniele Arnoldi, and Annapaola Rizzoli, have developed a methodology for advanced analysis (processing more than 11 000 satellite images) to create the map of potential distribution of this pest native of southeast Asia which has expanded significantly throughout Europe in recent years.

"The method applied to the tiger mosquito predictive mapping” – the researchers of the FEM Research and Innovation Centre explain – “is also applicable to the study of other dangerous arthropods vectors like ticks, by deriving the climatic parameters that govern the abitoic requirements of the various specimens from satellite data."

The produced potential distribution map will serve as support for vector monitoring and control actions  by the local health authorities. Knowing in advance which areas are most at risk can be a big advantage for those who have to contain the spread of this insect. The article has been published as open access, it is available online at http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0014800

Image: Trentino, Italy – the colored areas show where climatic conditions are favorable to the presence of the tiger mosquito (according to the criteria of January mean temperature > 0 °C and T = annual average >= 11 °C). In orange the areas are shown where all environmental factors are favorable to its presence (and long-lasting stable populations), in yellow the areas where only one of them is favorable (with probable fluctuations in populations over time and density). The areas lacking color does not have suitable climatic conditions for the survival of the species. For a 3D map version, see http://gis.cri.fmach.it/download/plos_one2011/