title: Species abundance and seasonal activity of mosquitoes on cattle facilities in southern Alberta, Canada.
abstract: Seventeen mosquito species were collected at eight cattle facilities in southern Alberta, Canada, during 2002-2004. Five species, Culiseta inornata (Williston), Aedes dorsalis (Meigen), Culex tarsalis (Coquillett), Aedes vexans (Meigen), and Aedes campestris Dyar & Knab accounted for 93.6% of the mosquitoes collected. Culiseta inornata, Ae. dorsalis, and Ae. campestris were trapped earliest in the year. Cs. inornata was active latest in the year and had the longest period of activity. Ae. dorsalis finished activity in late September and had the second longest period of activity. Ae. campestris was the first to complete its activity, resulting in a moderate period of activity. Cu. tarsalis and Ae. vexans appeared later in the season, disappeared by late September, and had the briefest periods of activity. Logistic regression was used to estimate relationships between the proportions of traps positive and mean weekly abundance for each species. Fifty percent of the traps were positive when abundance averaged 0.19-0.30 females per trap night. Logistic regression was used to determine the timing of the onset of activity and temperature thresholds for flight. Relationships between the proportion of positive traps and mean weekly temperature indicated that Cs. inornata had the lowest temperature threshold, Cx. tarsalis the greatest, and the remaining species had intermediate thresholds. Logistic regression indicated that mosquito presence was primarily affected by temperature and accumulated degree-days, with only Ae. vexans exhibiting a positive response to precipitation. The models can be used to predict the onset of activity as defined by when populations exceed a particular threshold.
authors.affiliation: Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge, AB, Canada T1J 4B1. tim.lysyk@agr.gc.ca
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Lysyk
mesh_terms: D000416:Alberta / Q000453:epidemiology; D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology*; D002980:Climate; D003465:Culex / Q000145:classification / Q000502:physiology; D009033:Culicidae / Q000145:classification / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D007299:Insect Bites and Stings / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011156:Population Density; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012621:Seasons