Abstract: Due to climate change and the introduction of mosquito-vectored viruses into new areas of the United States, control and monitoring of mosquito populations have gained increased importance. To help aid the Texas Health Department and increase opportunities in student undergraduate research, a cooperation was created between the City of Amarillo Environmental Health and Amarillo College to evaluate mosquito populations and identify the presence of Arthropod-borne viruses. Working along with the City of Amarillo Environmental Health, a group of students collected and evaluated mosquitos from five locations within Amarillo, TX. Traps were set up at each location for 5 d and the collected mosquitoes were then evaluated for population number, species identification, and nucleic acid extraction. Extractions were evaluated for the presence of the mosquito-vectored viruses West Nile virus, Eastern equine encephalitis virus, and St. Louis encephalitis virus using Real-Time RT-PCR following the National Arbovirus Surveillance Network protocols. A total of 65 mosquitoes were collected with multiple mosquito species identified from each site including three mosquito species previously unknown to the area. Of the mosquitoes collected, 55.4% were female which requires a blood meal for reproduction and can subsequently transfer viral pathogens. However, no viral pathogens were detected from the mosquitos collected during the study. These data were sent to the Amarillo Department of Environmental Health and included in the National Arbovirus database. This study is the first cooperation between Amarillo College and the City of Amarillo Department of Environmental Health. It provided students with networking opportunities, and experience in insect population evaluation and molecular diagnostic techniques. These data also helped to guide vector control programs while providing undergraduate student research experience.
