Spawning behavior of Aedini (Diptera: Culicidae) in a remnant of Atlantic Forest in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

BACKGROUND: Mosquito assemblages are organized along an ecological gradient, including small habitats where interspecific competition predominates and large permanent habitats where predation predominates. This study aimed to analyze the oviposition behavior of mosquitoes regarding the preference for traps installed at two different heights with regard to ground level and the tendency to share spawning sites in an Atlantic Forest fragment in Nova Iguaçu, State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. METHODS: The eggs were collected from April 2018 to March 2019. Twelve ovitraps were used, randomly distributed in trees at ground level and at a height of 3 m in a forest environment. RESULTS: They were sequentially numbered, monitored, and replaced every 2 weeks. Among the 5818 eggs collected, 3941 hatched, 3756 reached the pupa stage, and 2370 reached the adult stage. The most abundant species were Aedes albopictus (63%) and Haemagogus leucocelaenus (35%), followed by Aedes terrens (2%) and Haemagogus janthinomys (1%). Analyses showed a significant difference of (P = 0.02) between the number of mosquito species collected in the palettes at ground level and the number collected at the height of 3 m. Cluster analysis of species abundance showed that the eggs collected in the palettes at ground level were more abundant than those collected in the palettes at the height of 3 m. We detected co-occurrence of species in the oviposition palettes; according to the null model, such species distribution was not random. CONCLUSIONS: The exploitation of oviposition sites by mosquito species can represent an event forced by population density facilitated by the ecological valence of individuals of one species. Understanding the aggregate distribution of larvae at the oviposition site allows us to conduct more in-depth studies of the oviposition behavior of female mosquitoes.

Treatment of shrimp effluent by sedimentation and oyster filtration using Crassostrea gigas and C. rhizophorae

Efficiency in removing particulate matter from Litopenaeus vannamei shrimp culture effluent was assessed in laboratory scale employing sedimentation and oysters Crassostrea gigas and C. rhizophorae filtration processes. Cylindroconical tanks (100 L) were used in duplicate for sedimentation and 50-L in triplicate for oyster filtration. Fifteen oysters of each species weighing 76-80 g were stocked in each of the filtration treatment experimental units (biomass of 1065 - 1174 g oyster per unit). The control treatment was a tank similar to those used in the filtration treatment but with empty oyster shells. Hydraulic retention time of the effluent was of 6 hours in each treatment. First, effluent went through sedimentation, and then the supernatant went through the filtration tanks. Temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, salinity, turbidity, total suspended solids, total volatile solids, chlorophyll a and BOD5 were evaluated. During sedimentation and filtration, temperature, pH, salinity and dissolved oxygen concentration remained stable. Sedimentation removed 18, 5.6, 27.5, 45.40 and 23.2 percent of turbidity, total suspended solids, total volatile solids, chlorophyll a and BOD5, respectively. Chlorophyll a and BOD5 after sedimentation presented significant difference (P<0.05) from the farm crude effluent. For the filtration treatment, C. rhizophorae was more efficient removing 62.1, 70.6, 36.1, 100 and 17.2 percent of turbidity, total suspended solids, total volatile solids, chlorophyll a and BOD5, respectively, whereas C. gigas removed 56.3, 41.2, 27.8, 51.4 and 8.0 percent of the same parameters. Statistically comparing C. rhizophorae and C. gigas performances, there were differences (P<0.05) in removing total suspended solids, total volatile solids and chlorophyll a.

Em escala laboratorial, foi comparada a eficiência de remoção de material particulado presente no efluente do cultivo de camarão branco Litopenaeus vannamei, mediante o processo de sedimentação e filtração com ostra nativa Crassostrea rhizophorae e com ostra do pacifico Crassostrea gigas. No processo de sedimentação foram empregados tanques cilindro cônico, em duplicata, de cor preta com 100 L de capacidade total. Para o processo de filtração foram empregados tanques cilindro cônicos, em triplicata, de cor preta de 50 L de volume total. No tratamento de filtração cada unidade experimental foi estocada com 15 indivíduos de ostras de ambas as espécies, com peso médio entre 76 - 80 g, mantendo uma biomassa entre 1.065 e 1.174 g ostra por unidade. Também foi empregado um tanque com as mesmas características ao de filtração, como controle, contendo apenas conchas de moluscos sem animal. O tempo de retenção hidráulica do efluente, em cada tratamento, foi de 6 horas, passando primeiro pelo processo de sedimentação e posteriormente o sobrenadante foi transferido para a filtração. As variáveis avaliadas no estudo foram pH, temperatura, oxigênio dissolvido, salinidade, turbidez, sólidos suspensos totais, sólidos voláteis totais, clorofila a e DBO5. No processo de sedimentação e de filtração, as variáveis temperatura, pH, salinidades e oxigênio dissolvido se mantiveram estáveis. O tratamento de sedimentação conseguiu uma remoção de 18,7 por cento; 5,6 por cento; 27,5 por cento; 45,4 por cento e 23,2 por cento, para a turbidez, sólidos suspensos totais, sólidos voláteis totais, clorofila a e DBO5, respectivamente, sendo que a clorofila a e a DBO5 foram as variáveis que no processo de sedimentação apresentaram diferenças estatísticas (P<0,05) em relação ao efluente bruto da fazenda. No processo de filtração, a ostra C. rizophorae resultou ser mais eficiente na remoção do material particulado do que a ostra C. gigas, com valores de 62,1 por cento; ...