Undergraduate Research: An Archive - 2021 Program

HEALTH AND DISEASE
THESIS TITLE
Habitat Hunting:
Dissolved Oxygen
Dynamics in Artificial
Breeding Grounds for
Aedes aegypti Domestic
Subspecies
ADVISER
Lindy McBride,
Assistant Professor of
Ecology and
Evolutionary Biology
and Neuroscience
Janet You ’21
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY
Senior Thesis Research Funding Awardee
Mosquitos of the species Aedes aegypti are
vectors for diseases such as dengue fever,
yellow fever and Zika that threaten endemics
in multiple parts of the world. Aedes aegypti are
such effective disease vectors because they have
adapted to live in close proximity to humans.
Studies have shown that there are different
preferences between breeding containers
between the generalist subspecies and domestic
subspecies. However, it is still undiscovered
if the domestic subspecies’ adaptations are
relevant to the actual conditions of artificial
breeding cans. My study aimed to increase our
understanding of the breeding habitats of Aedes
aegypti in urban spaces to better develop vector
control strategies. I focused on the dynamics of
dissolved oxygen in potential artificial breeding
containers and explored the variables that affect
this hatching cue. The results show that various
variables of an urban environment —type of
container, temperature, time, larvae presence
and time of day —effect the dissolved oxygen
levels of a container. I also found that there is a
high variability of dissolved oxygen in different
artificial containers. These data call for a better
understanding of the breeding habitats of the
domestic subspecies to prevent and eliminate
potential breeding sites in human inhabited
areas.
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