Immature mosquitoes from ground-water habitats in a temperate wetland of Argentina: environmental associations and seasonal variation of community attributes

CARDO MARÍA VICTORIA; DARÍO VEZZANI; ANIBAL EDUARDO CARBAJO

JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MOSQUITO CONTROL ASSOCIATION

AMER MOSQUITO CONTROL ASSOC

Lugar: California; Año: 2012 vol. 28 p. 151 - 159

8756-971X

We studied the seasonal patterns of three community attributes (breeding site index, richness, and diversity) of ground-water mosquito immatures and their associations with meso- and microhabitat factors in the Paraná Lower Delta, Argentina from December 2009 to November 2010.Monthly collections at four sites captured 2,313 mosquito immatures, belonging to 19 species assigned to 6 genera. Immatures developed in a wide range of microenvironmental conditions (water temperature 4.0 - 30.2 ºC, pH 5.4 - 9.1, electric conductivity 0.02 - 6.33 mS/cm, and dissolved oxygen 0 - 235.6%), and their occurrence was significantly associated with lower water temperature and dissolved oxygen values. Most frequently captured species were Culex dolosuss.l. (58.6% of the samples), Ochlerotatus crinifer (22.9%), and Cx. intrincatus (19.0%). Breeding site index was highest in winter (0.76) and lowest in spring (0.54). Species richness and diversity varied significantly among seasons (peaking in summer), land uses, and habitat types.