Abundance of adult Aedes albifasciatus in relation to habitat features.

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

Dallas, TX, EEUU

Congreso; 67th American Mosquito Control Association (AMCA) Annual Meeting; 2001

American Mosquito Control Association

An extensive area of central Argentina is periodically flooded by rainfall and river overflow, providing breeding sites for mosquitoes. Adult population explosions of Ochlerotatus albifosciatus irritate livestock, affecting milk and beef  production. Although the species is a known vector of western equine encephalomyelitis virus, its population lation dynamics on a regional scale is poorly known. This work studied factors affecting the spatial pattern of mosquito abundance. Adult mosquitoes were collected with light traps baited with CO, in 28 sampling sites in a 14 X l4-km study area south of Mar Chiquita Lake. Each site was defined according to its vegetation cover, terrain slope, cattle density, and distance to potential breeding sites. The spatial and temporal patterns of abundance suggested that this species preferred prairies and natural grasslands subject to periodic flooding vs. woodlands and agroecosystems. A discriminant function based on the proximity to Salicornia sp. and Sesuvium sp. prairies, distance to woodland, and land slope correctly classified 95% of the data having an average high (>500) or low (<500) mosquito abundance, and was  validated using 6 sites located away from the study area. Using the discriminant function, a map of abundance distribution was created with the aid of a geographic information system.