Impact of environmental factors on mosquito dispersal in the prospect of sterile insect technique control

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to develop a mathematical model to simulate mosquito dispersal and its control taking into account environmental parameters, like wind, temperature, or landscape elements. We particularly focus on the Aedes albopictus mosquito which is now recognized as a major vector of human arboviruses, like chikungunya, dengue, or yellow fever. One way to prevent those epidemics is to control the vector population. Biological control tools, like the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT), are of great interest as an alternative to chemical control tools which are very detrimental to the environment. The success of SIT is based not only on a good knowledge of the biology of the insect, but also on an accurate modeling of the insect’s distribution. We consider a compartmental approach and derive temporal and spatio-temporal models, using Advection–Diffusion–Reaction equations to model mosquito dispersal. Periodic releases of sterilized males are modeled with an impulse differential equation. Finally, using the splitting operator approach, and well-suited numerical methods for each operator, we provide numerical simulations for mosquito spreading, and test different vector control scenarios. We show that environmental parameters, like vegetation, can have a strong influence on mosquito distribution and in the efficiency of vector control tools, like SIT.