Dinâmica espacial e coexistência de mosquitos de container invasores e nativos em área periurbana de Montes Claros - MG

Abstract

Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) are insects of great epidemiological interest due to successive outbreaks of emerging arboviruses. Their development can be affected by a variety of biotic and abiotic factors at different scales, altering the adaptive processes of these insects and their interactions with humans. In this study, we describe the spatial dynamics and the effect of interspecific coexistence on mosquitoes that colonize artificial containers in three environments of a periurban area in the municipality of Montes Claros, Minas Gerais. To verify the influence of sampling sites on the distribution of mosquitoes, the collection of immatures was carried out through the exposure of ovitraps in an area of dry forest, an area of riparian forest and a pasture area during the rainy seasons of 2020 and 2021. To analyze the influence of physicochemical parameters in the distribution of populations in different habitats, characteristics such as pH and conductivity were measured at the time of collection. Generalized linear models (GLM's) were performed to relate the effect of biological and abiotic factors on species distribution. There was a predominance of invasive mosquitoes Aedes albopictus and Aedes aegypi, followed by the native mosquito Aedes terrens, which occurred at a relatively high abundance, and the predatory larvae mosquito Toxorhynchites theobaldi. There was a focal presence of Haemagogus spegazzini, as well as the vectors of Wild Yellow Fever, Haemagogus leucocelaenus and Haemagogus janthinomys in the riparian forest. The low diversity reflects the impacts of the urban matrix and the seasonality of the North of Minas Gerais. Habitat characteristics affected only the abundance of Aedes albopictus, which was greater in the dry forest, the area which is located farther from the city and in the pasture area due to the availability of breeding sites and large animals available for blood meal. Precipitation and rainfall variation in the days before field sampling, as well as water characteristics, also influence the species' abundance patterns. Finally, there was coexistence between invasive species and the presence of native species found in the region. The overlapping of these distributions highlights the importance of monitoring disease vector species in periurban areas.