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Influence of Tree Density Upon the Spatial Distribution of Mosquito Populations

Organization(s):Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) GLOBE v-School
Country:United States of America
Student(s):Vivek Athilpatla, Ankit Chandra, Shayna Juimo-Kamga, Isabella List, Emmie Shockley
Grade Level:Secondary School (grades 9-12, ages 14-18)
GLOBE Educator(s):Cassie Soeffing
Contributors:Dr. Russanne Low, SME, IGES. Peder Nelson, SME, OSU. Andrew Clark, SME, IGES. Dr. Erika Podest, SME, NASA JPL
Report Type(s):International Virtual Science Symposium Report, Mission Mosquito Report
Protocols:Biometry (including Tree Height), Land Cover Classification, Earth As a System, Mosquitoes
Presentation Video: View Video
Presentation Poster: View Document
Language(s):English
Date Submitted:01/18/2024
Mosquitoes are vectors for pathogens such as the West Nile Virus, Dengue (DV), Zika (ZIKV), and Malaria. Determining the abiotic factors that contribute to the spread of these diseases and the conditions under which mosquito habitats thrive is essential to mitigating mosquito populations and mosquitos as a public health threat. This study aims to assess the effect of tree density and land cover on mosquito populations and the correlation between tree density and mosquito species composition. Using photos collected from NASA GLOBE Observer, we investigated three different three-by-three-kilometer areas of interest (AOI) representing various ecological settings within the surrounding Houston, Texas area. These photos were then analyzed using a GitHub machine-learning model that assessed both tree density and land cover percentages within each region. This data was then compared to an ArcGIS database representative of the mosquito population dataset of Houston, Texas. From this data, we found no clear correlation between either tree density or concentration with mosquito populations, but previously published works from other authors support the idea of a positive relationship between mosquito populations and urbanized areas with fewer trees. Keywords: mosquitoes, tree density, land cover, Houston, Texas


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