University of South Florida Scholar Commons Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate School 4-7-2014 Spatiotemporal Distribution of Genus Culex (Diptera: Culicidae) in USF Ecopreserve, Hillsborough County, Florida Emily Schwartz University of South Florida, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd Part of the Public Health Commons Scholar Commons Citation Schwartz, Emily, "Spatiotemporal Distribution of Genus Culex (Diptera: Culicidae) in USF Ecopreserve, Hillsborough County, Florida" (2014). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/5122 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Spatiotemporal Distribution of Genus Culex (Diptera: Culicidae) in USF Ecopreserve, Hillsborough County, Florida by Emily Schwartz A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for degree of Masters of Public Health Department of Global Health College of Public Health University of South Florida Major Professor Robert Novak, Ph.D. Benjamin Jacob, Ph.D. Thomas Unnasch, Ph.D. Date of Approval: April 7, 2014 Keywords: Eastern Equine Encephalitis Virus, West Nile Virus, St. Louis Encephalitis Virus, Arbovirus, Ecology Copyright 2014, Emily Schwartz ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank Dr. Robert Novak for being a mentor who provided me with an abundance of tools for my future in public health. He has the passion and dedication, which I hope to reflect in my own career someday. Not only has he passed on knowledge and skills, but also helped guided by professional development by challenging me every step of the way. Also, Dr. Ben Jacob for his expertise and advice regarding statistics and modeling. I want to give special thanks for my colleague Ryan Tokarz showing me the way when I first started at the University of South Florida. He was always a source of moral support and wealth of knowledge. I cannot forget the other Ryan; Ryan Ortega deserves a big applause for his help with using SAS. Additionally, I acknowledge Dr. Fox and the USF Ecopreserve Research Committee for giving me permission to conduct my research. TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables ........................................................................................................................................................ ii List of Figures ...................................................................................................................................................... iii Abstract ................................................................................................................................................................. iv Chapter One: Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 1 Chapter Two: Materials and Methods ............................................................................................................ 11 Site Description .................................................................................................................................... 11 Site Ecology ............................................................................................................................. 12 Site Selection ........................................................................................................................... 12 Adult Sampling Technique ................................................................................................................. 14 Egg Collection Technique .................................................................................................................. 15 Gravid Collection Technique ............................................................................................................. 16 Larval Sampling Collection ................................................................................................................. 17 Data Collection ..................................................................................................................................... 18 Analysis .................................................................................................................................................. 19 Chapter Three: Results ...................................................................................................................................... 20 Larval Sampling .................................................................................................................................... 20 Gravid Sampling ................................................................................................................................... 20 Egg Collection ...................................................................................................................................... 22 Adult Sampling ..................................................................................................................................... 24 Statistical Analysis ................................................................................................................................ 34 Chapter Four: Discussion ................................................................................................................................. 36 Egg Sampling Considerations ............................................................................................................ 36 Gravid Sampling Analysis ................................................................................................................... 38 Adult Sampling Population and Trends ........................................................................................... 39 List of References .............................................................................................................................................. 44 i LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Percentage of egg rafts by species according to distance ....................................................... 24 Table 2: Summation of adult catches by distance ................................................................................... 25 Table 3: Paired Student t-test for Culex erraticus catches by distances .................................................. 35 Table 4: Paired Student t-test for Culex nigripalpus by distances ............................................................ 35 Table 5: Paired student t-test for total Culex catches by distances ....................................................... 35 ii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Example of urban wetland and residential interface ................................................................. 9 Figure 2: Satellite imagery of sampling points ........................................................................................... 13 Figure 3: Statistical representation of zero-inflated Poisson regression for gravid Culex spp. at 50 meters .................................................................................................................................... 21 Figure 4: Gravid Culex species at 50 Meters .............................................................................................. 21 Figure 5: Gravid Culex species at 100 Meters ............................................................................................ 22 Figure 6: Zero meter egg collection ............................................................................................................ 22 Figure 7: Fifty meter egg collection............................................................................................................. 23 Figure 8: Hundred meter egg collection ..................................................................................................... 23 Figure 9: Adult catches of Culex erraticus by spatial point ........................................................................ 26 Figure 10: Adult catches of Culex nigripalpus by spatial point .................................................................... 27 Figure 11: Adult Culex erraticus compared to rainfall: 0 meters ................................................................. 28 Figure 12: Adult Culex erraticus compared to rainfall: 50 meter ................................................................. 29 Figure 13: Adult Culex erraticus compared to rainfall: 100 meters ............................................................ 30 Figure 14: Adult Culex nigripalpus compared to rainfall: 0 meter .............................................................. 31 Figure 15: Adult Culex nigripalpus compared to rainfall: 50 meter ............................................................ 32 Figure 16: Adult Culex nigripalpus compared to rainfall: 100 meter .......................................................... 33 iii ABSTRACT Within the state of Florida, there are three arboviruses of public health importance that can cause neuroinvasive disease in humans: West Nile Virus, Saint Louis Encephalitis Virus, and Eastern Equine Encephalitis Virus. Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) within the genus Culex are known and suspected vectors of these diseases. The vectors of these diseases can be present in urban wetland habitats that allow for exposure to residential