Community structure of mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) in the coast of Southern Brazil

Abstract

Considering the importance of Culicidae species to public health, this study aimed to update and provide better understanding of the mosquito fauna in an Atlantic Forest preservation area in Paranaguá, Paraná State, Southern Brazil. This was achieved via a mosquito survey with a subsequent analysis of the impact of abiotic factors on the composition of the mosquito community. A total of 1641 culicid specimens of 42 species and 10 genera were identified. The most abundant taxa were Aedes serratus/nubilus, Psorophora ferox and Anopheles cruzii, the latter being the main vector of malaria in the Atlantic Forest. Culex abonnenci, a species that had not yet been recorded in Paraná State, was also identified. Rainfall and temperature were found to have a high influence on some species, such as Aedes hortator, Ps. ferox and An. cruzii. This study demonstrates that performing new studies in already researched regions is relevant, as new species may be recorded. In addition, analysing the effects of abiotic factors on mosquito species is important to understand how climate change influences the composition of species in certain areas and therefore impacts the dynamics of diseases propagated by insect vectors.

Variación temporal de la abundancia de mosquitos (Diptera: Culicidae) en el Bosque Atlántico subtropical de Brasil

“…However, the peaks occurred at different times, and even the distribution of abundance during the year was different for each species. The temporal variation in abundance patterns found here also differed from those found for most of these species in other studies (Forattini et al 1995;Maciá 1997;Loetti et al 2007;Ferreira-de-Freitas et al 2016;Orlandin et al 2017;Santos et al 2019Santos et al , 2020. However, when we look at some such species, their associations with higher-temperature periods of the year become evident.…”

“…[Palabras clave: análisis circular, cambio climático, factores abióticos] Recibido: 17 de Febrero de 2021 Aceptado: 11 de Junio de 2021 * orlandinelton@gmail.com Editor asociado: Alejandro Farji-Brener I����������� A better understanding of the temporal variation in abundance patterns of vector or potential vector species, as well as the abiotic factors associated with these patterns, enables the creation of strategic measures aimed at preventing diseases spread by these organisms (Deichmeister and Telang 2011;Zittra et al 2017). Although there are many studies that suggest the period of occurrence of mosquito species, most of them perform such inferences based only on the months of greater abundance (Silva and Lozovei 1998;Loetti et al 2007;Ferreira-de-Freitas et al 2016;Santos et al 2019Santos et al , 2020, while others focus only on introduced species such as Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus (Reinhold et al 2018).…”

“…Ecología peaks of abundance at different times during the hottest period of the year (Forattini et al 1995;Ferreira-de-Freitas et al 2016;Santos et al 2019). Additionally, the abundance of these species was positively affected by temperature and generally associated with precipitation.…”

When and what time? On the seasonal and daily patterns of mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) in an Atlantic Forest remnant from Southern Brazil

“…2019; Santos et al . 2019), mainly because they transmit several diseases, such as Yellow Fever, Zika and dengue viruses. This has resulted in detailed, long‐term research, as arboviruses represent a global public threat, and we also may consider the potential changes in distribution with changing climatic conditions (Hoshi et al .…”

Habitat use by Neotropical mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae): vegetation structure and edge effects

“…Thus, the present study brings additional contributions to the biology of the species collected in the region. Despite a short sampling period at each point, we found considerable abundance and species richness when compared with studies that used similar methodologies (Ferreira‐de‐Freitas et al 2017; Orlandin et al 2017; Santos et al 2019, 2020).…”