title: Mosquitoes of field and forest: the scale of habitat segregation in a diverse mosquito assemblage.
abstract: Knowledge of the distribution of arthropod vectors across a landscape is important in determining the risk for vector-borne disease. This has been well explored for ticks, but not for mosquitoes, despite their importance in the transmission of a variety of pathogens. This study examined the importance of habitat, habitat edges, and the scale at which mosquito abundance and diversity vary in a rural landscape by trapping along transects from grassland areas into forest patches. Significant patterns of vector diversity and distinct mosquito assemblages across habitats were found. The scale of individual species' responses to habitat edges was often dramatic, with several species rarely straying even 10 m from the edge. The present results suggest blood-seeking mosquito species are faithful to certain habitats, which has consequences for patterns of vector diversity and risk for pathogen transmission. This implies that analysts of risk for pathogen transmission and foci of control, and developers of land management strategies should assess habitat at a finer scale than previously considered.
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, U.S.A.
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Reiskind
authors.affiliation: Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC, U.S.A.
authors.forename: R H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Griffin
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, U.S.A.
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Janairo
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, U.S.A.
authors.forename: K A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Hopperstad
mesh_terms: D063147:Animal Distribution; D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D009033:Culicidae / Q000502:physiology*; D017753:Ecosystem; D065928:Forests; D065948:Grassland; D009657:North Carolina; D011156:Population Density
keywords: Disease ecology; habitat edges; landscape ecology; vector-borne pathogens