Ornamental Bromeliads of Miami-Dade County, Florida Are Important Breeding Sites for Aedes Aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae)

Overview

Journal Parasit Vectors

Publisher Biomed Central

Specialties Parasitology
Tropical Medicine

Date 2018 May 18

PMID 29769105

Citations 12

Authors

Andre B B Wilke

Chalmers Vasquez

Paul J Mauriello

John C Beier

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: A major public health concern is the emergence and geographical spread of vector-borne diseases such as Zika and yellow fever. Ornamental bromeliads retaining water in their leaf axils represent potential breeding sites for mosquitoes. As the role of ornamental bromeliads in breeding Aedes aegypti in Miami-Dade County, Florida is unknown, we hypothesize that ornamental bromeliads are important breeding sites for Ae. aegypti. Our objective was to survey bromeliads in areas with high densities of adult Ae. aegypti, including those with 2016 local transmission of Zika virus.

Methods: Ornamental bromeliads were surveyed for the presence of immature mosquitoes at 51 locations of Miami-Dade County, Florida. Bromeliads were sampled for the presence of immature stages of mosquitoes, their reservoirs were drained and screened for the presence of immature mosquitoes. Immature mosquitoes were stored in plastic containers and preserved in 70% ethanol until morphological identification. Biodiversity of species assemblages was assessed by Shannon's and Simpson's indices, and individual rarefaction curves and plots of cumulative abundance, Shannon's index and evenness profiles.

Results: Ornamental bromeliads were present in all surveyed areas, yielding a total of 765 immature mosquitoes, comprising five taxonomic units: Ae. aegypti, Wyeomyia mitchellii, Wyeomyia vanduzeei, Culex quinquefasciatus and Culex biscaynensis. The biodiversity indices point to a low diversity scenario with a highly dominant species, Ae. aegypti.

Discussion: Our findings suggest that ornamental bromeliads are contributing for the proliferation of Ae. aegypti in the County of Miami-Dade, which may indicate a shift in the paradigm of usage of bromeliads as breeding sites, highlighting that ornamental phytotelmata bromeliads are to be considered in future vector-control strategies to control Zika and other arboviruses.

Citing Articles

Using machine learning to understand microgeographic determinants of the Zika vector, Aedes aegypti.

Alexander J, Wilke A, Mantero A, Vasquez C, Petrie W, Kumar N PLoS One. 2022; 17(12):e0265472.

PMID: 36584050 PMC: 9803113. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0265472.

Effectiveness of adulticide and larvicide in controlling high densities of Aedes aegypti in urban environments.

Wilke A, Vasquez C, Carvajal A, Ramirez M, Cardenas G, Petrie W PLoS One. 2021; 16(1):e0246046.

PMID: 33493238 PMC: 7833233. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0246046.

Proliferation of Aedes aegypti in urban environments mediated by the availability of key aquatic habitats.

Wilke A, Vasquez C, Carvajal A, Medina J, Chase C, Cardenas G Sci Rep. 2020; 10(1):12925.

PMID: 32737356 PMC: 7395141. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-69759-5.

Urban farms in Miami-Dade county, Florida have favorable environments for vector mosquitoes.

Wilke A, Carvajal A, Vasquez C, Petrie W, Beier J PLoS One. 2020; 15(4):e0230825.

PMID: 32251419 PMC: 7135078. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0230825.

Cemeteries in Miami-Dade County, Florida are important areas to be targeted in mosquito management and control efforts.

Wilke A, Vasquez C, Carvajal A, Moreno M, Diaz Y, Belledent T PLoS One. 2020; 15(3):e0230748.

PMID: 32208462 PMC: 7092980. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0230748.

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