The impact of artificial light on mosquito activity and physiology.

The Department of Zoology & Entomology, University of Pretoria, is inviting 1 excellent MSc candidate to apply for a 2 year research project measuring the impact of artificial light on aspects of mosquito biology.

This lab-based project is part of a larger initiative entitled “Reducing vector borne disease risk by optimizing artificial light expansion across Africa” funded by the Jennifer Ward Oppenheimer Research Grant, with Principal Investigator and Senior Lecturer Dr. Bernard W.T. Coetzee, and collaborators, which for this call are Prof. Lizette Koekemoer (WRIM/ WITS / NICD) and Dr Megan Riddin (UP ISMC). A competitive stipend and project running costs are included.

In this project, you will conduct a series of well-designed lab-based experiments to test how the alteration of light, in terms of its timing, spectra and intensity, alters fundamental biological parameters on mosquitoes of medical concern (especially Anopheles), and particularly their feeding activities. In addition to making new contributions of our understanding of ALAN on insects, the project will contribute vital parameterization data to ongoing field and modelling studies, to assess how ALAN interacts with other drivers of mosquito biology.

Download this pdf for more info on this opportunity