Diversity analysis, distribution and abundance of mosquito assemblages Diptera: Culicidae at urban sector from southwestern Colombia.

Abstract

The Culicidae family (mosquitoes) has great relevance worldwide, due to its involvement in the generation of several diseases. The department of Cauca in Colombia characterize as a region with influence of several vector-borne diseases. The purpose of this study is to analyze the ecological diversity and distribution of mosquitoes with potential transmitters of diseases in a particular urban area of the municipality of Santander de Quilichao. This is one of the first studies of its kind in this municipally. Mosquito collections were carried out during the rainy and dry seasons of 2022, between 17:00 to 19:00. Morphological keys were used for species identification. For the analysis of diversity comparison vs. sampling points, Simpson's index was used, dendrogram, rarefaction curve and non-metric multidimensional scaling (nMDS). In the statistical analysis of species-abundances, ANOVA were applied to determine if there were significant differences regarding abundance. A total of 1116 culicid specimens were collected. The 59.4% were mosquitoes of the species Aedes aegypti, 18.5% Culex quinquefasciatus, 18.2% Aedes albopictus and 3.9% Psorophora ferox, being the rainy season important for their survival. ANOVA analysis showed that the mean abundance of Aedes aegypti was significantly different from the other species. This study is broadly consistent with other studies in the tropical American context where the abundance of Culicidae is more representative in the rainy season. The results suggest a wide presence of Aedes mosquitoes in natural and artificial habitats, showing the importance of establishing controls and permanent epidemiological surveillance in this region.