Is Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus) going to become homodynamic in Southern Europe in the next decades due to climate change?

Abstract

The Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus, competent vector of several arboviruses, poses significant impact on human health worldwide. Although global warming is a driver of A. albopictus range expansion, few studies focused on its effects on homodynamicity (i.e. the ability to breed all-year-round), a key factor of vectorial capacity and a primary condition for an Aedes-borne disease to become endemic in temperate areas. Data from a 4-year monitoring network set in Central Italy and records from weather stations were used to assess winter adult activity and weekly minimum temperatures. Winter oviposition occurred in 38 localities with a seasonal mean photoperiod of 9.7 : 14.3 (L : D) h. Positive collections (87) occurred with an average minimum temperature of the two and three weeks before sampling of approximately 4°C. According to these evidences and considering the climate projections of three global climate models and three shared socio-economic pathways for the next three 20-year periods (from 2021 to 2080), the minimum temperature of January will increase enough to allow an all-year-round oviposition of A. albopictus in several areas of the Mediterranean Basin. Due to vector homodynamicity, Aedes-borne diseases could become endemic in Southern Europe by the end of the twenty-first century, worsening the burden on human health.

Keywords

• invasive mosquito
• Culicidae
• disease vector
• risk map
• global warming
• climate change