Environmental Correlates of Abundances of Mosquito Species and Stages in Discarded Vehicle Tires

Abstract

Discarded vehicle tires are a common habitat for container mosquito larvae, although the environmental factors that may control their presence or abundance within a tire are largely unknown. We sampled discarded vehicle tires in six sites located within four counties of central Illinois during the spring and summer of 2006 to determine associations between a suite of environmental factors and community composition of container mosquitoes. Our goal was to find patterns of association between environmental factors and abundances of early and late instars. We hypothesized that environmental factors correlated with early instars would be indicative of oviposition cues, whereas environmental factors correlated with late instars would be those important for larval survival. We collected 13 species of mosquitoes, with six species (Culex restuans, Cx. pipiens, Aedes albopictus, Cx. salinarius, Ae. atropalpus, and Ae. triseriatus) accounting for ≈95% of all larvae. There were similar associations between congenerics and environmental factors, with Aedes associated with detritus type (fine detritus, leaves, seeds) and Culex associated with factors related to the surrounding habitat (human population density, canopy cover, tire size) or microorganisms (bacteria, protozoans). Although there was some consistency in factors that were important for early and late instar abundance, there were few significant associations between early and late instars for individual species. Lack of correspondence between factors that explain variation in early versus late instars, most notable for Culex, suggests a difference between environmental determinants of oviposition and survival within tires. Environmental factors associated with discarded tires are important for accurate predictions of mosquito occurrence at the generic level. KeywordsAedes; bacteria; Culex; detritus; microorganisms Discarded vehicle tires are an important artificial habitat for the larvae of numerous species of disease-carrying container mosquitoes (reviewed in Yee 2008). Tires are important, in part, because of their abundance and proximity to human habitation, and because they are potentially more durable than natural containers (e.g., tree holes). Moreover, tires are an important means of transportation for native (Berry and Craig 1984) and invasive species (Hawley et al. 1987, Peyton et al. 1999. Although the importance of tires as a habitat for container mosquitoes is well documented, there is surprisingly little information about how environments in and around tires relate to mosquito populations and communities. Understanding the environmental factors that affect oviposition and larval survival in tires may be of practical importance for understanding risk of disease transmission in different kinds of habitats, and may aid in planning more effective vector control strategies.The presence of mosquito larvae in a container is the result of two processes: female oviposition choice and larval survival. Female mosquitoes use a variety of sensory cues to lo...

Invasive plant alters ability to predict disease vector distribution

“…Although not all mosquito stages are associated with the same suite of environmental characteristics (e.g., correlates of oviposition rates are not necessarily associated with the number of emergent mosquitoes; Yee et al 2010), our results support the hypothesis that an invasive plant can alter vector behavior in a way that may undermine the effectiveness of disease risk models. Disease control programs rely upon the association between environmental features and vector distributions; a relationship connected by vector behavior (Kalluri et al 2007).…”

Tire-breeding mosquitoes of public health importance along an urbanisation gradient in Buenos Aires, Argentina

“…The potential importance of tires as a source of mosquito vectors was noted during the mid-1940s, when war material was returned to the United States (US) containing tires infested with mosquitoes (Reiter & Sprenger 1987). Since then, tires have been targeted for investigations of mosquitoes worldwide, including North America (Yee et al 2010), Europe (Scholte et al 2010) and Asia (Higa et al 2010). Despite the voluminous literature on these man-made containers and their demonstrated relevance to public health, there are no ecological studies focused on water-filled tires as habitats for mosquitoes in Argentina.…”

What Can Larval Ecology Tell Us About the Success ofAedes albopictus(Diptera: Culicidae) Within the United States?: Table 1.

“…albopictus larvae with aspects of the resource environments in field containers. In surveys of tires from six sites among four counties in spring and summer in Illinois, Yee et al (2010) found that abundance of Ae. albopictus larvae was correlated with the presence of detritus (leaf, seed, and fine detritus in spring; seeds in summer).…”