Diversity of mosquitoes from Porto Alegre region, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil: ecological and public health perspectives.

Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) from Porto Alegre region (Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil) remain understudied. We therefore investigated mosquitoes occurring in 11 sites of this region, and evaluated which landscape features may explain the variation of species richness and composition of mosquito populations in different urban-natural areas of the study region. Using BG-Pro traps, we collected 4311 mosquitoes, from at least 50 species, 14 genera, and two subfamilies. Mansonia titillans (n = 598, 13.87%), Culex spp. (n = 513, 11.9%), and Mansonia wilsonii (n = 502, 11.65%) were the most abundant taxa. Aedes aegypti (n = 36, 0.84%) is potentially exploring new landscapes in the region, beyond human habitations. We identified two new descriptions for the Rio Grande do Sul state, Mansonia pessoai (n = 70, 1.62%) and Toxorhynchites theobaldi (n = 6, 0.14%). The model selection procedure identified that the percentage coverage of temporary crops and the Simpson's diversity index at landscape level as possible variables explaining the species richness, while percentage coverage of urban and temporary crops were the best predictors of species composition. BG-Pro traps were efficient for catching several adult mosquito species including Toxorhynchites mosquitoes. Therefore, this could be an interesting sampling methodology for mosquito surveillance. Implications for insect conservation: This study expanded the knowledge about Culicidae diversity in Brazil, highlighted the importance of green urban areas for biodiversity conservation, and provided data for entomological surveillance programs. This study also contributes to the conservation of mosquito species that pose no risk to human health (e.g., Toxorhynchites), highlighting that such species have relevant ecological roles, unrelated to disease transmission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]