The influence of the area of the Serra da Mesa Hydroelectric Plant, State of Goiás, on the frequency and diversity of anophelines (Diptera: Culicidae): a study on the effect of a reservoir

INTRODUCTION: Bioecological aspects of anophelines (Diptera: Culicidae) near areas under the direct influence of the hydroelectric plant reservoir of Serra da Mesa in Goiás, Brazil, were analyzed. METHODS: Samples were collected at the surrounding dam area during the phases before and after reservoir impoundment. The influence of climatic and environmental factors on the occurrence of Anopheles darlingi, Anopheles albitarsis, Anopheles triannulatus, Anopheles oswaldoi and Anopheles evansae was assessed using Pearson's correlations with indicators for richness and diversity as well as the index of species abundance (ISA) and the standardized index of species abundance (SISA). RESULTS: The highest anopheline density occurred during the phase after filling the tank; however, no direct correlation with the climatic factors was observed during this stage. The reservoir formation determined the incidence of the anopheline species. An. darlingi was the predominant species (SISA = 1.00). CONCLUSIONS: The significant difference (p < 0.05) observed between the species incidence during the different reservoir phases demonstrates the environmental effect of the reservoir on anophelines. .

Biodiversidade e aspectos epidemiológicos de mosquitos (Diptera: Culicidae) vetores de patógenos em áreas do Pantanal Matogrossense, Estado do Mato Grosso, Brasil / Biodiversity and epidemiological aspects of mosquitoes (diptera: culicidae) pathogens vectors in pantanal Matogrossense areas, Mato Grosso state, Brazil

Com a finalidade de conhecer aspectos da biologia e da ecologia de mosquitos(Diptera: Culicidae) em áreas do Pantanal Matogrossense, onde esses conhecimentos eram escassos para a maioria das espécies ou mesmo inexistentes para outras tantas, foram realizadas capturas bimestrais, diurnas e noturnas, em quatro diferentes pontos, ao longo de 24 meses consecutivos, entre Março de 2009 até Janeiro de 2011. Foram capturados 17.533 espécimes, abrangendo duas subfamílias, nove gêneros e 44 espécies. Os culicíneos, com cerca de 78 por cento dos espécimes encontrados, foram mais numerosos do que os anofelinos, com destaque de Culex nigripalpus que representou 25 por cento do total de mosquitos capturados. De maneira geral, a fauna de culicídeos apresentou maior distribuição sazonal nos períodos quentes e chuvosos, apresentaram correlação positiva com os fatores abióticos: temperatura, umidade relativa do ar e pluviosidade, em especial com o último, exceto Mansonia titillans, que, assim como os anofelinos, não apresentaram correlação com esses fatores climáticos, estando influenciados pelos mecanismos de alagamentos regionais...

In order to know aspects of biology and ecology of mosquitoes (Diptera:Culicidae) in areas of the Pantanal, where this knowledge were sparse for mostspecies or even non-existent for many others, bimonthly, day and night catcheswere made, at four different points, over 24 consecutive months between March2009 until January 2011. A total of 17.533 specimens were captured, includingtwo subfamilies, nine genera and 44 species. The culicíneos, with about 78 percent ofthe specimens found, were more numerous than the Anopheles, Culexnigripalpus with highlighting which represented 25 percent of captured mosquitoes. Ingeneral, the mosquitoes fauna showed greater seasonal distribution in hot andrainy periods were positively correlated with abiotic factors: temperature, relativehumidity and rainfall, especially with the latter, except Mansonia titillans, which,like the Anopheles, were not correlated with these climatic factors and areinfluenced by regional flooding mechanisms. [...] Anopheles evansae, An. rondoni and An.matogrossensis have better distribution in environments with more wildcharacteristics. An. darlingi, An. albitarsis and An. triannulatus in environments...

Serological detection of West Nile virus in horses and chicken from Pantanal, Brazil

In an effort to detect West Nile virus (WNV) in Brazil, we sampled serum from horses and chickens from the Pantanal region of the state of Mato Grosso and tested for flavivirus-reactive antibodies by blocking ELISA. The positive samples were further confirmed for serological evidence of WNV infection in three (8%) of the 38 horses and one (3.2%) of the 31 chickens using an 80% plaque-reduction neutralisation test (PRNT80). These results provide evidence of the circulation of WNV in chickens and horses in Pantanal.