Predicting the spatial distribution of Ochlerotatus albifasciatus (Diptera: Culicidae) abundance with NOAA imagery

GLEISER, R.M.; D.E. GORLA

BULLETIN OF ENTOMOLOGICAL RESEARCH

Cabridge Journals

Año: 2007 vol. 97 p. 607 - 612

0007-4853

Ochlerotatus albifasciatus is a vector of western equine encephalomyelitis in Argentina and a nuisance mosquito affecting beef and dairy production. The objective of this study was to analyze whether environmental proxy data derived from 1km resolution NOAA-AVHRR images could be useful as a rapid tool to locate areas with higher potential for Oc. albifasciatus activity at a regional scale. Training sites for mosquito abundance categories were 3.3 x 3.3 km polygons over sampling sites. Abundance was classified in two categories according to a proposed threshold for economic losses. Data of channels 1, 2, 4 and 5 were used to calculate 5 biophysical variables: Normalized differences vegetation index (NDVI), land surface temperature, total precipitable water, dew point and vapour saturation deficit. A discriminant analysis correctly classified 100 % of the areas predicted to be above or bellow the economic threshold of 2500 mosquitoes/night of capture, respectively. Components of the NDVI, the total precipitable water and the dew point temperature contributed most to the function value. The results suggest that environmental data derived from AVHRR-NOAA could be useful to rapidly identify adequate areas for mosquito development or activity.