Mosquito Communities and Insect-Specific Viruses in a Heterogenous, Urban Landscape in Puerto Rico

The goal of my thesis was to investigate the relationships between mosquito diversity, Aedes aegptyi populations, and socioeconomic factors (SEF) in an urban setting and to characterize the virome of Ae. aegypti in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Mosquitoes were collected in three periods during late 2018 and early 2019 and were identified to the species level. Socioeconomic factors were measured using foot surveys and U.S. Census data. Some Ae. aegypti females were processed for sequencing and sent to Quick Biology for RNA sequencing to identify viruses. Results showed a link between SEF and Ae. aegypti abundance as well as between SEF and mosquito diversity measures. Lower socioeconomic neighborhoods had both more Ae. aegypti and more diverse communities indicating that control efforts should be focused in these areas. Virome structure was characterized as a basis for further study on insect-specific viruses