Species Composition and Ecological Aspects of Immature Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) in Phytotelmata in Cantareira State Park, São Paulo, Brazil

TL;DR

This study explores mosquito species in plant-based water habitats in a Brazilian park, finding that these environments support diverse mosquitoes, including disease vectors.

Contribution

The study provides new insights into the diversity and ecological role of phytotelmata as mosquito breeding sites in a region with disease outbreaks.

Findings

Bromeliads had the highest mosquito species richness and diversity compared to tree holes and bamboo internodes.

Important disease vectors like Anopheles cruzii and Haemagogus leucocelaenus were identified in the study area.

Phytotelmata serve as critical habitats for maintaining mosquito populations near urban centers.

Abstract

Several mosquito species, including some that spread disease-causing pathogens, use cavities, depressions, and other plant structures, where rainwater can accumulate, as breeding sites. This study compared the diversity of mosquito species found in bromeliads, tree holes, and bamboo internodes in Cantareira State Park, São Paulo, Brazil, an area with reported yellow fever outbreaks in monkeys and the presence of malaria-causing parasites. We collected immature mosquitoes over 27 months, identifying 49 species from 11 genera. The bromeliads had the highest number and variety of mosquito species among the phytotelmata studied. The results showed that these microenvironments can support a wide range of mosquito species, including Anopheles cruzii, an important malaria vector in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, the sylvatic yellow fever virus carrier Haemagogus leucocelaenus, and Aedes aegypti, a vector of several arboviruses, including the dengue fever virus. These findings highlight the role of phytotelmata in maintaining mosquito populations, including disease-carrying species, in green areas near urban centers.

Phytotelmata are aquatic microenvironments formed by the accumulation of water and organic matter in cavities of plants. These microenvironments serve as breeding sites for various species of mosquitoes, including some of epidemiological importance. Our objective was to identify the mosquito fauna in these microenvironments and to analyze variations in mosquito fauna diversity between bromeliads, tree holes, and bamboo internodes in Cantareira State Park, São Paulo (CSP), Brazil, where there have been reports of yellow-fever epizootics in non-human primates and circulation of plasmodia. Collections were carried out monthly from February 2015 to April 2017. The bromeliads showed greater mosquito species richness and diversity than the tree holes and bamboo internodes, as well as a very different composition. Of the 11 genera collected and 49 taxa identified, Culex (Carrolia) iridescens, Cx. ocellatus, Cx. (Microculex) imitator, and Anopheles (Kerteszia) cruzii were the most abundant. The phytotelmata in the CSP showed significant differences in species richness, diversity, and composition and were found to support a diverse mosquito fauna to develop, including An. cruzii and the sylvatic yellow fever virus vector Haemagogus leucocelaenus. The finding of these epidemiologically important species highlights the key role played by phytotelma breeding sites as places of refuge and species maintenance for these vectors in green areas close to urban centers.

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