Speaker: Dr. Shannon LaDeau, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies
Vector-borne diseases (VBD) are a growing threat to urban communities. Increasing rates of local transmission within cities emphasizes the growing need for comprehensive understanding of the interacting social and ecological processes that are shaping the changing landscape of VBD risk. Social processes that influence the management of water and biodiversity, for example, have profound influence on mosquito ecology and associated disease risk.
This talk looks at interdependent social and ecological processes influencing the ecological composition and broad function of mosquitoes in Baltimore City, Maryland (USA). It will examine how current and historical socioecological interactions have generated novel environmental conditions that support population growth of ecological species important to human disease transmission and reinforce environmental injustices. Employing a socioecological cascade framework, this research aims to improve understanding of predictability, risk assessment, and complex issues of equity in the face of global change.