Differences in mosquito (Diptera: Culicidae) biodiversity across varying climates and land-use categories in Eastern Spain

Abstract

Intensive larval samplings of mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) were carried out between 2005 and 2008 in several biotopes located in a varying climate region in Eastern Spain. The biodiversity was analyzed and divided into alpha, beta and gamma components with the aim of comparing the mosquito biodiversity according to the different structure of the landscape due to the incidence of climatic and anthropic patterns. Likewise the synanthropic index of Nuorteva was calculated for each species. A total of 11,279 mosquitoes belonging to 29 species was collected and identified. Mosquito biodiversity is higher in the wettest and nonanthropized areas. Using a cluster analysis, all this information was also used to group the different regions studied depending on its mosquito fauna. Moreover the re-emergence of antroponosis, like malaria, seems unlikely given the low values of the synanthropic index for the anophelines captured. © Entomologica Fennica. 20 December 2011.