Journal of Natural Sciences Research www.iiste.org ISSN 2224-3186 (Paper) ISSN 2225-0921 (Online) Vol.10, No.12, 2020 35 Impact of Environmental Changes on Mosquitoes and Disease Transmission Esack Fonda Andongma 1* Smith Asaah Forchu 1 Binda Tembeng Andongma 2 Blessing Kakawusa Gana 3 1. Faculty of Science, University of Buea, P.O.Box 63, Buea, South West Region, Cameroon 2. Faculty of Science, Ahmadu Bello University, P.O.Box 1044, Zaria, Nigeria 3. School of Life Science, Federal University of Technology, P.O.Box 65, Minna, Nigeria Abstract Mosquitoes are excellent indicators of environmental changes caused by man, especially as environmental degradation promotes the proliferation of mosquito species with adaptive plasticity which can develop in suburban areas and can carry and transmit pathogens to humans and animals. Therefore, environmental changes are evaluated as risk factors of emerging mosquito borne diseases. The current knowledge of diversity and relative abundance of mosquito vectors as a function of habitat change, survival rate of several mosquito species, as well as their biting rates leading to the rapid spread and emergence of new diseases is not comprehensive. Noteworthy, the interaction between vector-host-parasite in natural environment can be disrupted when deforestation occurs. This review provides useful knowledge for vector control, while allowing the monitoring of biological indicators of environmental changes caused by man, an important step in understanding the dynamics of mosquito vector distribution under changing environment. Keywords: Deforestation, parasite, biodiversity, vector, DOI: 10.7176/JNSR/10-12-04 Publication date:June 30th 2020 Background The transmission dynamics of vector borne parasites under natural condition is determined by factors affecting three main components; the pathogens, the vectors and its vertebrates host. Most studies focus on the interaction between the parasites and their host while other studies integrates all the three main groups (Ferraguti et al. 2013). Vector and community as well as habitat characterization may have an important but different impact on the prevalence, richness and evenness of vector borne parasite. Although much is known about the biology of mosquitoes and their role in disease transmission, little is known about how rapid environmental changes can affects the community of mosquitoes and its dynamics. Due to habitat changes, mosquitoes are been expose to new host and at an unprecedented rate which can lead to the emergence and spread of diseases (McCallum & Dobson, 2002; Lafferty, 2009). In a socio-ecological context, the increasing human population coupled with greater demand for agricultural land, has led to an incremental habitat changes in tropical countries where malaria, a mosquito borne disease is endemic. Anthropogenic land-use change is considered a key driver of disease emergence because it can result in novel interactions among vectors, hosts and diseases. In tropical regions, emerging pathogens have been associated with a range of land-use activities including deforestation, habitat fragmentation, urbanization, bush meat hunting, gold mining and road construction (Laurance et al. 2013). However, climate warming or any factor that alters the microclimatic conditions of mosquitoes (e.g., deforestation) in the highlands may facilitate the persistence of the mosquito population. Furthermore, changes in precipitation and humidity are also expected to occur under climate change scenarios; the synergistic effects between temperature and precipitation are expected to have major effects on the ecology of mosquitoes and mosquito-borne diseases. Increased precipitation may affect larval habitat availability and stability, and habitat productivity. The association between precipitation, vector abundance, and malaria prevalence has been well supported (Afrane et al. 2012). Meta-analysis on the impact of environmental changes on the development and reproduction of malaria vectors that include large number of study sites and various mosquitos’ species may reveal general principle on the effects of environmental changes on malaria vectors and the underlying biological mechanisms. In principle, the biology of mosquitoes, diversity, and pathogens carried by the mosquitoes in response to environmental changes is essential for building predictive models and control strategies. Environmental changes on Host, Parasite and Vector association Outbreaks of vector-borne diseases have increasingly been linked to human activities. Landscape changes through activities such as forestry, ranching, and agriculture, may influence disease epidemiology in a variety of ways (Patz et al. 2000); either directly through effects on interactions between pathogens and their vectors and hosts or indirectly by alterations in disease dynamics through changes in vector ecology. The study of mosquito ecology is essential in understanding the epidemiology of different diseases and monitoring environmental changes caused by man, especially as environmental degradation promotes the proliferation of mosquito species with adaptive