A University of Arkansas at Little Rock professor has received a $35,000 grant to continue his long history of assisting the City of Little Rock with its Mosquito Surveillance and Control Program. 

Dr. Carl Stapleton, associate professor of biology and director of the Environmental Health Sciences Program at UA Little Rock, has spent 15 years monitoring mosquitoes for Little Rock.

UA Little Rock students will help Stapleton with the program, which gives them hands-on experience in collecting and analyzing mosquito surveillance data. The surveillance team will use GPS coordinates, temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction, general weather conditions, and select water quality measures as part of data collection protocols.

Stapleton and his team provide recommendations for mosquito trap locations, collect and identify mosquito species, collect samples from mosquito breeding areas, compile and analyze data, screen selected mosquito specimens for the presence of the West Nile Virus, and conduct educational tasks.

A key focus of program activities is directed toward educational opportunities to help Little Rock citizens become more aware of mosquito-borne diseases, mosquito breeding practices, and preventative measures that can be taken to prevent these diseases. UA Little Rock will provide pamphlets, contact homeowners who have requested spray services, and conduct mosquito breeding habitat surveys.