Article
Measuring Mosquito Diversity Patterns in an Amazonian Terra Firme Rain Forest
Registro en:
Journal of Medical Entomology, v. 47, n. 2, p. 121-128, 2010
0022-2585
10.1603/ME09060
Autor
Julião, G. R.
Abad-Franch, Fernando
Oliveira, Ricardo Lourenco de
Luz, Sérgio Luiz Bessa
Resumen
We reanalyzed a dataset consisting of 10,700 crepuscular and night-biting female
mosquitoes (Culicidae) collected over 12 mo in the canopy and understorey of primary Amazonian
rain forest.Weinvestigate whether vertical habitat stratiÞcation and rainfall modiÞed major ecological
parameters of this mosquito ensemble, combining descriptive and hypothesis-testing statistics with
species richness and diversity metrics in the analyses. A total of 31 species was recorded. Contrary to
expectations, the host-seeking mosquito fauna was less diverse in the forest canopy than in the
understorey. In particular, species diversity and evenness were higher in understorey samples,
whereas species richness estimates were similar in both habitats. Only two out of 12 species tested for
vertical stratiÞcation were clearly acrodendrophilic, and Þve preferred understorey habitats. The
mosquito fauna was more diverse in the rainy than in the dry season. We propose the hypothesis that
female mosquito density and host defensive behavior may promote host seeking in nonpreferred
habitats by acrodendrophilic mosquito species. These results may be particularly relevant for understanding
the dynamics of Plasmodium malariae/brasilianum and arboviral infections in Amazonian
forested landscapes.