Back

An integrative approach to mosquito dynamics reveals differences in people's everyday experiences of mosquitoes

Evans, M. V.; Bhatnagar, S.; Drake, J. M.; Murdock, C. C.; Mukherjee, S.

2021-09-06 ecology
10.1101/2021.09.06.459057 bioRxiv
Show abstract

O_LIUrban environments are heterogeneous landscapes of social and environmental features, with important consequences for human-nature entanglements, such as that of mosquito-borne disease. C_LIO_LIInvestigations into this intra-urban heterogeneity in mosquito dynamics find conflicting results, likely due to the complex socio-ecological interactions and the importance of place-based context. Integrative research, which synthesizes multiple disciplines and epistemologies, can help place ecological results into their social context to explore these place-based differences. C_LIO_LIHere, we develop an integrative approach to understanding spatial patterns of mosquito burdens in urban systems by combining entomological surveys, semi-structured interviews, and sketch maps. C_LIO_LIAlthough we found no evidence for a difference in mosquito abundance across an urban gradient, there were differences in individuals everyday experiences with mosquitoes. These differences were mediated by how individuals moved through public space and their vulnerability to hazards in these spaces. C_LIO_LIThis example of integrative research illustrates what can be gained from the inclusion of multiple epistemologies, particularly for research in socio-ecological systems. C_LI

Matching journals

The top 9 journals account for 50% of the predicted probability mass.

50% of probability mass above

"Similar papers" are the closest papers from that journal in the model's embedding space. They show what the match is built on, but the ranking comes mostly from a classifier over the whole training set, not from these examples alone.