2.1. Study Site

Puerto Rico is a Caribbean archipelago that has an area of approximately 9104 km², and a population of over three million people (U.S. Census Bureau, 2018). San Juan (18°27′ N, 66°05′ W), the capital, has a population of approximately 350,000 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2018). The San Juan Metropolitan Area (SJMA) has a subtropical, maritime climate, with the rainy season occurring from May to October. Elevation increases and level of urbanization decreases moving south from the city center. The municipalities that make up the SJMA present a mosaic of highly urbanized areas, wetlands, urban forest fragments, and managed green spaces [24]. There is limited knowledge of mosquito species distribution within the SJMA [5], and even less knowledge about host selection in the urban environment.

Sampling occurred in eight neighborhoods across three municipalities (San Juan, Carolina, and Cataño) (Figure 1). Neighborhoods were chosen to represent a gradient of socioeconomic and ecological factors (Table 1). Two neighborhoods in proximity, Villa Venecia and Vistamar, have similar surrounding habitat but different SES (former neighborhood is high SES and gated). Torrecilla is surrounded by mangrove forests and saltwater habitats. Cataño and Martin Peña are characterized by closely placed housing and semi-frequent flooding from canals within the communities. Puerto Nuevo is near a large, forested park.

Map of mosquito-trapping locations in the San Juan Metropolitan Area, Puerto Rico in 2018 and 2019. The inset highlights the location of San Juan on the island of Puerto Rico. Each of the black dots represent the centroid of latitude and longitude of all traps deployed in the neighborhood. The neighborhood abbreviations are: CA—Cataño, MP—Martin Peña, PN—Puerto Nuevo, RP—Río Piedras, T—Torrecilla, VM—Vistamar, VV—Villa Venecia. VM and VV were combined into a single point on the map because of their geographic proximity.

Socio-economic variables by neighborhood in the San Juan Metropolitan Area. Mean number of abandoned homes, parks, freshwater bodies, and litter items are mean values calculated from foot surveys (n = 103) in October 2018, January 2019, and May 2019. The remainder of the variables are mean values calculated from the U.S. Census data (2018; n = 21). The neighborhood abbreviations are: CA—Cataño, MP—Martin Peña, PN—Puerto Nuevo, RP—Río Piedras, TO—Torrecilla, VM—Vistamar, VV—Villa Venecia (Scavo et al., in revision).