title: Mosquitoes of the Caatinga: 2. Species from periodic sampling of bromeliads and tree holes in a dry Brazilian forest.
abstract: The Caatinga is a dry tropical forest, located in the Brazilian semiarid region and rich in phytotelmata. This study investigated the culicid fauna of phytotelmata of the caatinga by sampling for 19 consecutive months aquatic immatures from tree holes and bromeliads. A total of 127L of water was taken from the plants, containing 6764 immature culicids of 16 species, of which 11 (69%) are undescribed and respond to 90% of the total abundance of the specimens collected. Epiphytic bromeliads harbor a large number of immature Culicidae, although terrestrial bromeliads are the most abundant and widely distributed in the region. The richness of culicid species was similar between terrestrial and epiphytic bromeliads and lower in habitats represented by tree hole phytotelmata. There was no similarity in the composition of culicid species that developed in bromeliads or tree holes. Temperature and humidity were the environmental parameters most strongly associated with the proportion of positive plants. The Caatinga has a great number of endemic species that remain unknown to science and many additional culicid species may await discovery from there.
authors.affiliation: Colegiado de Medicina, Universidade Federal do Vale do São Francisco, Av. José de Sá Maniçoba, S/N, Centro, 56304-917, Petrolina, PE, Brazil. Electronic address: leticia.marteis@univasf.edu.br.
authors.forename: Letícia Silva
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Marteis
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Epidemiologia, Faculdade de Saúde Pública, Universidade de São Paulo, Avenida Dr. Arnaldo, 715, 01246-904, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Delsio
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Natal
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Epidemiologia, Faculdade de Saúde Pública, Universidade de São Paulo, Avenida Dr. Arnaldo, 715, 01246-904, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Maria Anice Mureb
authors.initials: MAM
authors.lastname: Sallum
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Epidemiologia, Faculdade de Saúde Pública, Universidade de São Paulo, Avenida Dr. Arnaldo, 715, 01246-904, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Antônio Ralph
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Medeiros-Sousa
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Morfologia, Universidade Federal de Sergipe, Avenida Marechal Rondon, S/N, 49100-000, São Cristóvão, SE, Brazil.
authors.forename: Roseli La
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Corte
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D001938:Brazil; D031229:Bromeliaceae; D009033:Culicidae / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics*; D065928:Forests; D013045:Species Specificity; D014197:Trees; D014867:Water
chemical_list: D014867:Water
keywords: Biodiversity; Culicidae; Ecology; New species; Phytotelmata; Tropical dry forest