Sarah E. Rothman

Mosquito larvae feed on microbes growing on decomposing organic matter, which in cities is often limited to a finite amount of allochthonous leaf litter in artificial container habitats. Curiously, field surveys in US cities consistently document a mismatch between blocks with the greatest mosquito infestations and blocks where their plant resources are most plentiful, with variation shaped by socioeconomic factors. We gathered leaves characteristic of socioeconomically diverse blocks in Baltimore, Maryland, and Washington, DC, to create lab mesocosms for two common mosquito species, Aedes albopictus (Skuse) and Culex pipiens (Linnaeus). We reared mosquitoes at varying densities to assess the effects of leaf litter composition on survival, development time, and body size, from which we calculated population performance and effects on competition. We also investigated traits of the leaf litter and aquatic environment. Leaf litter containing at least one non-native species, including the mix common on low-income blocks (nonnative trees Ailanthus altissima and Paulownia tomentosa) and the mix common across the region (native tree Juglans nigra and nonnative tree Morus alba) improved mosquito outcomes compared to the native leaf litter common on high-income blocks (native trees Acer rubrum and Ulmus americana) and also alleviated competitive effects on development time, perhaps making coexistence more likely. The three litter types showed significant differences in C:N ratio, decay rate, and tannin/lignin concentration but not in microbial abundance. These results offer a mechanistic explanation for previously observed socioeconomic patterns in urban mosquito populations and point toward novel strategies for mosquito control through vegetation management.

With the introduction and adaptation of non‐native mosquitoes to cities, vector‐borne diseases are emerging concerns in the United States of America. A growing body of literature suggests that mosquito infestations and associated diseases are a greater burden in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas within the heterogeneous urban ecosystem, but the ecological processes behind such spatial variation are not well understood. Urban plant communities that provide detrital resources to larval mosquitoes also vary across fine scales, with most field studies showing less abundant and diverse vegetation in lower income neighborhoods. We propose that socioeconomically aligned variation in plant communities is an important mechanism behind socioeconomically aligned mosquito infestations. However, few studies evaluating mosquito–plant interactions link experimental treatments to fine‐scale variation in urban plant community composition. Related knowledge on the interconnections between socioeconomics, mosquitoes, and vegetation is scattered among disciplines, from sociology to vector biology to plant ecology. We synthesize knowledge from diverse disciplinary sources to better understand urban mosquito ecology. We evaluate and summarize results from studies investigating socioeconomic influences on urban mosquitoes and residential vegetation in the continental United States. We then review studies examining the vegetation influences on larval mosquitoes. Synthesis across these previously disparate components of urban mosquito socioecology emphasizes knowledge gaps, including areas for future research to better integrate these topics. When considered together, the studies highlighted here contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of urban mosquito ecology than any one discipline could alone.

With a multitude of physical, biological, and chemical soil characteristics disrupted or degraded during surface mining, it is challenging to achieve proper reclamation, much less restoration, post‐mining. We sought to assess the potential of a native wildflower seed mix (NWSM) to establish and achieve high vegetative coverage in the first season using soil amendments. We also evaluated the influence of amendments on community composition and soil quality. In May 2018, we seeded a NWSM on a surface mine in experimental plots treated with either inorganic fertilizer, spent mushroom compost, or left untreated. Plant coverage and community composition within experimental plots were assessed in October 2018. Soil samples were collected at the beginning and end of the season to identify potential changes in organic carbon, nitrogen availability, bulk density, and pH. First‐season vegetation results indicate that soil amendments may not be ecologically necessary or economically sensible for initial revegetation using a NWSM. Unamended plots surpassed compost‐amended plots and equaled or surpassed fertilizer‐amended plots in coverage, species richness, and proportion of seedlings present that originated from the mix. However, results from soil analyses suggest that compost may be beneficial to meeting surface mine restoration goals by improving important soil characteristics, such as percent organic matter, labile carbon, nitrate content, and pH, that could aid ecosystem recovery. Given the high degree of heterogeneity both within and between surface mines, future work should focus on identifying initial soil characteristics that could enable land managers to meet both reclamation and restoration goals using a NWSM.

The temperate United States has experienced increasing incidence of mosquito-borne diseases. Recent studies conducted in Baltimore, MD have demonstrated a negative relationship between abundances of Aedes albopictus (Skuse) and Culex mosquitoes and mean neighborhood income level, but have not looked at the presence of pathogens. Mosquitoes collected from five socioeconomically variable neighborhoods were tested for infection by West Nile, chikungunya, and Zika viruses in 2015 and 2016, and again from four of the neighborhoods in 2017. Minimum infection rates of pooled samples were compared among neighborhoods for each year, as well as among individual blocks in 2017. West Nile virus was detected in both Ae. albopictus and Culex pools from all neighborhoods sampled in 2015 and 2017. No infected pools were detected in any year for chikungunya or Zika viruses, and none of the target viruses were detected in 2016. Infection rates were consistently higher for Culex than for Ae. albopictus. Minimum infection rate was negatively associated with mean neighborhood income for both species in 2015. Although earlier work has shown a positive association between block-level abandonment and mosquito abundance, no association was detected in this study. Still, we demonstrate that viral infection in mosquito pools can differ substantially across adjacent urban neighborhoods that vary by income. Though trap security and accessibility often inform city sampling locations, detecting and managing arboviral risk requires surveillance across neighborhoods that vary in socioeconomics, including lower income areas that may be less accessible and secure but have higher infection rates.