Mapping Aedes albifasciatus (Diptera: Culicidae) abundance in central Argentina with AVHRR/ NOAA imagery

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

Dallas, TX EEUU

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

Ochlerotatus albifosciatus is a Neotropical floodwater mosquito developing over short periods in temporary ground pools. In the Mar Chiquita depression, the adult mosquito population increases during the rainy season, and females irritate livestock and thus affect dairy production. Previous studies showed that higher densities were recorded in areas that periodically flood, where more larval sites are available. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) images calculated from Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) products were used to map areas with high probability of adequate Oc. albifasciatus breeding sites. Training sites for high, medium or low abundance were defined as 3.3 x 3.3 km polygons over mosquito sampling sites, and were used on a supervised classification of National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)/AVHRR imagery. The first 3 components of a standardized principal components analysis on a NDVI tiem series represent statistical abstractions of the inherent variability of the original image set, and were used as bands in the classification. A maximum likelihood classification resulted in a 78.6% probability of predicting ares with potential yielding high mosquito densities. Results suggest that NOAA images were useful to identify those areas potentially more important for mosquito development or activity and where increases in the adult density could affect dairy production