The relationship between the abundance of mansonia mosquitoes inhabiting peat swamp forest and remotely sensed data, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and land surface temperature (LST)

Abstract

The role environmental determinants such as elevation, temperature, rainfall, and humidity influencing the presence, development, activity, and longevity of pathogens, vectors, zoonotic reservoirs of infection, and the epidemiology of vector-borne diseases is well known. Previously works suggested that it might be possible to predict adult abundance in advance using data on the vegetation index (NDVI), rainfall and temperature. The present study was to demonstrate relationship of some environmental factors, vegetation greenness index (NDVI) and land surface temperature (LST) with the seasonal variations of Mansonia mosquitoes (Ma. bonneae and Ma. uniformis) in Khosit subdistrict, Narathiwat Province. Mansonia pupulation lagged by one month responded positively to NDVI, LST and rainfall what means that a rise in the number of the mosquitoes was directly related to the rise in vegetation, temperature and rainfall. The present study did not attempt to draw a definitive picture of seasonal abundance of Mansonia mosquitoes in relation to these environmental variables. The direct causal link between these environmental factors and the mosquito density in the peat swamp forest is of research interest. The measurements in higher frequency, more time series of field investigations and remotely sensed data would be needed to confirm their associations, to resolve the true response and study how the mosquitoes respond to the environmental factors.