title: The spatial distribution of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus in a transition zone, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
abstract: Dengue fever has become the most important vector-borne viral disease in Brazil. Human facilitated transport of desiccation-resistant eggs has led to its two most important vectors, Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus, becoming widespread. In this paper, we report seasonal and spatial variation in larval abundances of Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus across a small-scale transition zone between an urban area and an urban wooded/forested area within Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. We installed 400 ovitraps across 10 sites with different human population densities and vegetation coverage. Eggs and larvae were collected for three weeks during the wet and dry seasons of 2002 and 2003. Ae. albopictus was predominantly found in the forested areas of the study site whereas in the urbanized area Ae. aegypti was more abundant. Both species peaked during the wet season. This distribution pattern, which may reflect adult flight range, may favor the co-occurrence of larvae of these species in a small-scale urban/urban forest transition zone.
authors.affiliation: Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. honorio@ioc.fiocruz.br
authors.forename: Nildimar Alves
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Honório
authors.forename: Márcia Gonçalves
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Castro
authors.forename: Fábio Saito Monteiro de
authors.initials: FS
authors.lastname: Barros
authors.forename: Mônica de Avelar Figueiredo Mafra
authors.initials: Mde A
authors.lastname: Magalhães
authors.forename: Paulo Chagastelles
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Sabroza
mesh_terms: D000330:Aedes / Q000145:classification / Q000502:physiology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil; D003715:Dengue / Q000635:transmission*; D004197:Disease Reservoirs; D017753:Ecosystem; D006801:Humans; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D007814:Larva; D011156:Population Density; D012621:Seasons; D014197:Trees; D014505:Urban Population; D014507:Urbanization