Carry-over Effects of the Larval Environment in Mosquito-Borne Disease Systems

Abstract

Mosquito-borne disease transmission is highly dependent on environmental conditions throughout the lifetime of a mosquito. In addition to direct effects of the current environment, carry-over effects from the environments of previous life-stages can influence an adult mosquito's life history traits. In this chapter, we review past work on the carry-over effects of temperature, nutrition, competition, and microbial diversity of the larval environment on disease transmission in mosquitoes. We then discuss how carry-over effects can be integrated into modeling studies and future directions for work on carry-over effects in mosquito-borne disease systems.