Culicidae assemblages of artificial containers and possible biotic interactions affecting Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) in Argentina

LIZUAIN, ARTURO ANDRÉS; MAFFEY, LUCIA; LEPORACE, MARINA; GARZÓN, MAXIMILIANO; SCHWEIGMANN, NICOLÁS; SANTINI, MARÍA SOLEDAD

MEDICAL AND VETERINARY ENTOMOLOGY

WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC

Año: 2023

0269-283X

In Argentina, the distribution of Aedes albopictus (Skuse) is limited to two provinces witha subtropical climate and few records. This study aims to describe and compare assembliesof Culicidae that breed in artificial containers in two areas with different degrees ofurbanisation where Ae. albopictus is present and to evaluate possible biotic interactions.We sampled container larval habitats of an urban (Eldorado city) and a rural environment(Colonia Aurora village). We performed generalized linear mixed models to evaluatewhich variables (containers characteristics or environment) are associated with the presenceand abundance of Ae. albopictus, Aedes aegypti Linneaus and Culex quinquefasciatusSay, and the presence of mosquito predators (Lutzia bigoti (Bellardi) and Toxorhynchitesspp.). Also, the relationship between the most abundant species was quantified in eachenvironment using Hurlbert’s C8 association coefficient. Ae. aegypti was the most abundantspecies in the urban environment, while Cx. quinquefasciatus and Ae. albopictuswere the most abundant in the rural area. Predators were more present in the rural environmentand affected the abundance of Aedes mosquitoes. Regarding the C8 index,Ae. aegypti was negatively associated with Ae. albopictus in the urban area, whereas inthe rural area these species presented a significantly positive relationship. These resultsshow that in urban environments the high abundance of Ae. aegypti could be affectingthe Asian tiger mosquito as evidenced by local studies of food larval competition. Also agreater presence of predators could be affecting Ae. albopictus in rural environments.