Differences in mosquito (Diptera: Culicidae) biodiversity across varying climates and land-use categories in Eastern Spain

Abstract

Intensive larval samplings of mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) were carried out between 2005 and 2008 in several biotopes located in a varying climate region in Eastern Spain. The biodiversity was analyzed and divided into alpha, beta and gamma components with the aim of comparing the mosquito biodiversity according to the different structure of the landscape due to the incidence of climatic and anthropic patterns. Likewise the synanthropic index of Nuorteva was calculated for each species. A total of 11,279 mosquitoes belonging to 29 species was collected and identified. Mosquito biodiversity is higher in the wettest and nonanthropized areas. Using a cluster analysis, all this information was also used to group the different regions studied depending on its mosquito fauna. Moreover the re-emergence of antroponosis, like malaria, seems unlikely given the low values of the synanthropic index for the anophelines captured.

The mosquito fauna of the western region of Spain with emphasis on ecological factors and the characterization ofCulex pipiensforms

“…Culex pipiens s.s. was undoubtedly the most abundant species in this survey and particularly in urban habitats. This is in agreement with its widespread distribution on the southern Iberian Peninsula (Almeida et al , Bueno‐Marí and Jiménez‐Peydró , Pérez‐Bote ). It was detected year‐round, with higher densities from May to October that follow a classic thermophilic trend: adaptability to environmental conditions and continuous reproductive development throughout the year, according to previous studies in Spain (Roiz et al , ).…”

“…modestus , even if at low density, due to its medical relevance as a vector of arboviruses (e.g., WNV, Tahyna virus), heartworm ( D. immitis ), or bacteria ( Francisella spp.) (Schaffner et al , Bueno‐Marí ). Because it is spreading throughout Europe, its ability to act as a secondary vector makes it more relevant (Bødker et al , Vaux et al ).…”

“…pipiens s.l. is the species that was more associated with urbanized areas of higher population density and, consequently, with more human activity pressure (Bueno Marí and Jiménez‐Peydró , Osório et al , Ferraguti et al ). Modification of the environment by human activities, such as irrigation areas, canals, and water storage, promotes mosquito proliferation, and Cx.…”

“…pipiens s.l. in Spain have focused on arbovirus surveillance and host preferences (Busquets et al , Vázquez et al , Muñoz et al ), and only studies in coastal areas (Bueno Marí and Jiménez‐Peydró , Roiz et al , Ferraguti et al ) have contributed to the knowledge of the possible factors for the presence of Cx. pipiens s.l., disregarding its behavior in inland Spain.…”

Faunistic analysis of mosquitoes (Diptera, Culicidae) in Teruel Province (Northeastern Spain)

“…For small larval habitats such as tree holes or small containers, the sampling was done by emptying or pipetting the contents for immature stages. The sampling effort was fi xed at 10 min, which included the active search for larvae in each biotope visited [3]. Mosquitoes were identifi ed according to taxonomic criteria of Schaffner et al [4].…”