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Diversity of mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) in public parks of Merida, Yucatan, Mexico

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Abstract

Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) are the group of insects, with great significance for the medical area that colonize different anthropogenic environments. This study reports the diversity of mosquitoes from four urban parks: Acuaparque (AP), Parque Ecológico del Poniente (PEP), Parque Ecológico Metropolitano del Sur (PEM) and Parque Zoológico del Centenario (PZC) in the city of Merida, Yucatan, located in southern Mexico. Mosquito larvae were collected by direct inspection from breeding sites and adult specimens were collected using CDC Backpack aspirators and Mosquito-Magnet® traps. A total of 349 specimens of 6 genera and 14 species were collected and identified. Aedes aegypti, Culex coronator, Culex nigripalpus, Culex interrogator, Aedes taeniorhynchus, Culex quinquefasciatus and Culex salinarius were the most abundant and widely distributed species. The highest numbers of species registered were 12 and 11 (for AP and PEP parks, respectively), and similar species composition. The results show that recreational parks can harbor various species of mosquitoes, including some of public health importance.

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Acknowledgements

Abdiel Martin-Park is supported by Cátedras-CONACYT program. The authors acknowledge the field-surveillance team of Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán for technical assistance in the mosquito sampling. We give special thanks to Adriana E. Flores for her comments and corrections for this manuscript and both Suzanna Rodriguez-Shugert and Brenda Herrera for grammatical corrections.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratorio para el Control Biológico de Aedes aegypti (LCB-UADY), Unidad Colaborativa para Bioensayos Entomológicos, Campus de Ciencias Biológicas y Agropecuarias, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Km. 15.5 Carr. Mérida-Xmatkuil s.n., Mérida, Yucatán C.P., 97315, México

    Yamili J. Contreras-Perera, Hugo Delfín-González, Abdiel Martin-Park & Pablo Manrique-Saide

  2. Laboratorio de Arbovirología, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Centro de Investigaciones Regionales Dr. Hideyo Noguchi, Mérida, México, C. P., 97000, México

    Julián E. García-Rejón

  3. Universidad Tecnológica de Calakmul. Carretera Estatal Xpujil-Dzibalchen Km 2+260 Xpujil, Calakmul, C.P. 24640, Campeche, México

    Marcos A. Briceño-Méndez

  4. Laboratorio de Ecología Y Conservación de La Biodiversidad, Departamento de Ecología Humana, Centro de Investigación Y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico, Mérida, México, C. P., 47310, México

    Marcos A. Briceño-Méndez

  5. Instituto Tecnológico de Venustiano Carranza, Av. Tecnológico, s/n Col. El Huasteco, Ciudad de Lázaro Cárdenas, Lázaro Cárdenas, Puebla, México, C. P., 73049, México

    Ramiro Puc-Kauil

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  1. Yamili J. Contreras-Perera
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  2. Julián E. García-Rejón
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  6. Abdiel Martin-Park
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  7. Pablo Manrique-Saide
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Contributions

Conceptualization: JGR, YCP. Field work: YCP, JGR. Identification species: YCP, JGR. Data curation: YCP, JGR. Formal analysis: YCP, MBM, RPK, AMP. Investigation: YCP, JGR, AMP, PMS. Methodology: YCP, JGR, AMP, PMS. Project administration: JGR, YCP. Resources: JGR, YCP, PMS. Software: RPK, MBM. Supervision: JGR, PMS. Validation: YCP, JGR, AMP, PMS. Visualization: YCP, PMS, AMP. Writing – original draft: YCP, MBM, RPK, JGR. Writing – review & editing: YCP, AMP, PMS, HDG.

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Correspondence to Yamili J. Contreras-Perera.

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Contreras-Perera, Y.J., García-Rejón, J.E., Briceño-Méndez, M.A. et al. Diversity of mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) in public parks of Merida, Yucatan, Mexico. Int J Trop Insect Sci 42, 3263–3272 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42690-022-00809-3

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