Mosquito communities with trap height and urban-rural gradient in Adelaide, South Australia: implications for disease vector surveillance

Abstract

Understanding the factors influencing mosquito distribution is important for effective surveillance and control of nuisance and disease vector mosquitoes. The goal of this study was to determine how trap height and distance to the city center influenced the abundance and species of mosquitoes collected in Adelaide, South Australia. Mosquito communities were sampled at two heights (<2 m and ~10 m) along an urban-rural gradient. A total of 5,133 mosquitoes was identified over 176 trap nights. Aedes notoscriptus, Ae. vigilax, and Culex molestus were all more abundant in lower traps while Cx. quinquefasciatus (an ornithophilic species) was found to be more abundant in high traps. Distance to city center correlated strongly with the abundance of Ae. vigilax, Ae. camptorhynchus, Cx. globocoxitus, and Cx. molestus, all of which were most common at the sites farthest from the city and closest to the saltmarsh. Overall, the important disease vectors in South Australia (Ae. vigilax, Ae. camptorhynchus, Ae. notoscriptus, and Cx. annulirostris) were more abundant in low traps farthest from the city and closest to the saltmarsh. The current mosquito surveillance practice of setting traps within two meters of the ground is effective for sampling populations of the important disease vector species in South Australia.

Keywords: Mosquitoes; community; ecology; height; urban; vector.