A Community-Ecology Framework for Understanding Vector and Vector-Borne Disease Dynamics

Abstract

The integration of community ecology into the understanding and management of vectors and vector-borne diseases has largely occurred only recently. This compendium examines a variety of community interactions that can affect vector or vector-borne disease dynamics. They include: the importance of risk of predation, risk of ectoparasatism, competition, interactions of competition with transgenic control, apparent competition mediated through vectors, indirect effects of pesticides, vector diversity, and parasite diversity within a vector. In this paper, we summarize these studies and introduce several additional important questions in need of further exploration.

Keywords:

• vectors
• vector-borne disease
• community ecology
• apparent competition
• dilution effect
• Release of Insects carrying a Dominant Lethal
• risk of predation
• risk of parasitism