Mosquito community structure in phytotelmata from a South American temperate wetland

ALBICOCCO, ANDREA PAOLA; CARBAJO A. E.; DARÍO VEZZANI

JOURNAL OF VECTOR ECOLOGY

SOC VECTOR ECOLOGY

Año: 2011 vol. 36 p. 437 - 446

1081-1710

Plant-held waters, i.e. phytotelmata, are considered great model systems for the study of community ecology. The fauna of these natural container habitats, particularly the mosquitoes, wereextensively investigated in tropical regions but the current knowledge about them in temperate South America is scanty. We assessed the structure of immature mosquito communities in leaf axils, tree holes, and bamboo stumps from a temperate wetland of Argentina. A total of 4330 immature mosquitoes were collected among the 2606 phytotelmata inspected. Leaf axils of eight plant species and tree holes were acting as larval habitats for nine mosquito species belonging to the genus Culex, Wyeomyia, Isostomyia, and Toxorhynchites. The mosquito communities identified showed richness ranging from 1 to 4 species. Marked differences were detected in the plant specificity for the species collected. Some of them were exclusively found in one plant species (e.g. Isostomyia paranensis in Scirpus giganteus) whereas others were collected in up to five plant species but belonging to the same phytotelm class (i.e. leaf axils). Finally, those from tree holes are well-known dwellers of artificial containers and ground water habitats (e.g. Culex pipiens).Our results support the idea of low mosquito richness in phytotelmata from temperate regions in comparison with tropical areas, but the observed specificity patterns echo the findings oftropical forests.