Mosquitoes represent a major global public health concern due to their role in transmitting vector-borne diseases, including a wide range of arboviruses (arthropod-borne viruses) that affect humans, livestock, and wildlife. In North America, members of the Culex pipiens complex are key vectors of West Nile virus (WNV), but due to climate and range shifts, uncertainty in taxonomy, and hybridization, their role in transmitting WNV to humans in Utah remains uncertain. I explore whether Cx. pipiens s. l. and Cx. tarsalis exhibits spatial and temporal habitat partitioning that influences West Nile Virus transmission dynamics in urban and rural areas. I test the hypothesis that mid-season virus amplification is primarily by Cx. pipiens s. l. in urban environments, followed by late-season transmission to dead-end hosts by Cx. tarsalis and/or Cx. quinquefasciatus in peri-urban and rural settings, contrasting with patterns observed on the East Coast. The study predicts distinct habitat preferences, with Cx. pipiens s. s. dominating urban areas early to mid-season, while Cx. tarsalis becomes more prevalent in urban areas later in the season. Mosquitoes were collected using CO₂ and gravid traps across 27 sites, and species identification was confirmed through minION DNA sequencing. Environmental variables, including urbanization, temperature, precipitation, and habitat type, are examined as key factors shaping mosquito distributions. Preliminary results will be visualized via mapping, with species identity and abundance as primary response variables. I will use a Generalized Linear Mixed Model (GLMM) to analyze the presence and abundance of species.
