Mosquito larval abundance in connected and Isolated pools beside a stormwater management pond

Abstract

Twelve experimental pools (30 cm width ×30 cm depth) around a large stormwater management pond (SWMP) were used to test the hypothesis that small puddles of water similar to animal hoofprints or other irregularities support more abundant and diverse mosquito populations due to having fewer insect predators. Six of the 12 pools were connected to the SWMP by a deep channel (7 cm wide ×10 cm depth ×50 cm length). Mosquito larvae and potential predators were sampled weekly over 16 wk in the summer. More mosquito larvae were found in the isolated pools than in connected pools or in the pond itself (U = 5.5, z = 2.002, P = 0.045). The observed differences between isolated and connected pools are presented and results discussed in terms of SWMP design.