Climate change is increasing average temperatures and precipitation in northeastern North America, which is increasing mosquito habitat. Understanding more of their biology is essential to building effective management solutions to mitigate the spread of these potential disease vectors. Mosquito larvae develop in water and are susceptible to damage from ultraviolet (UV) radiation. However, larvae can be protected from the effects of UV radiation by shading from dissolved organic matter in the water (DOM) or physical shading from above (PS). An experiment was performed to test if there was a difference in larval survival as a result of the different shading types. The presence of UV radiation had no significant effect on survivorship (p=0.81), however, the type of shading did significantly affect survivorship, with DOM having 44% average higher survivorship than the PS (p<0.001)As DOM increases in freshwater bodies in the northeast, managers should consider the potential for UV radiation to act as a natural disinfectant and the role of different types of shading in enabling mosquito larvae to proliferate. Designing an experiment to study this aquatic organism, analyzing, and presenting the results have improved my research skills, which will help me as I move on to graduate school to pursue a degree in freshwater ecology.
Author: Alyssa Cassidy
Faculty Advisors: Craig Williamson and Erin Overholt, Department of Biology
Graduate Student Advisor: Nicole Berry, Department of Biology
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