La disminución del DDT residual ajusta más que el incremento de temperatura global con la presencia de mosquitos, según Rochlin

Venimos leyendo en diversos trabajos que el calentamiento global es la causa principal del incremento de mosquitos, y con ello de arbovirosis, en el planeta. Nos hemos topado con el artículo

Anthropogenic impacts on mosquito populations in North America over the past century
 de Rochlin et al. cuyo resumen dice:

The recent emergence and spread of vector-borne viruses including Zika, chikungunya and dengue has raised concerns that climate change may cause mosquito vectors of these diseases to expand into more temperate regions. However, the long-term impact of other anthropogenic factors on mosquito abundance and distributions is less studied. Here, we show that anthropogenic chemical use (DDT; dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) and increasing urbanization were the strongest drivers of changes in mosquito populations over the last eight decades in areas on both coasts of North America. Mosquito populations have increased as much as tenfold, and mosquito communities have become two- to fourfold richer over the last five decades. These increases are correlated with the decay in residual environmental DDT concentrations and growing human populations, but not with temperature. These results illustrate the far-reaching impacts of multiple anthropogenic disturbances on animal communities and suggest that interactions between land use and chemical use may have unforeseen consequences on ecosystems. 


PD

Leyendo con calma:


The widespread, long-term and lasting impacts of DDT and other organochlorine pesticides affected ecosystems worldwide in both temperate and tropical areas, as well as the oceans and the atmosphere15. Impacts of DDT likely played a role in historical trends in abundance, diversity and distribution of many animal species and may have been similar in spatial extent to those predicted to result from climate change. With the cessation of widespread DDT use for agriculture in most of the world, climate, land use changes and species introductions are expected to become the driving forces in altering mosquito populations. These anthropogenic processes have already facilitated the invasion and transmission of vector-borne pathogens such as West Nile, Zika, dengue, and chikungunya viruses.