J Arthropod-Borne Dis, March 2019, 13(1): 62–75 A Paksa et al.: Biodiversity of … Original Article Biodiversity of Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) with Emphasis on Potential Arbovirus Vectors in East Azerbaijan Province, Northwestern Iran Azim Paksa1; Mohammad Mahdi Sedaghat1; Hassan Vatandoost1,2; Mohammad Reza Yaghoobi-Ershadi1; Seyed Hassan Moosa-Kazemi1; Teimour Hazratian3; Alireza Sanei-Dehkordi4,5; *Mohammad Ali Oshaghi1 1Department of Medical Entomology and Vector Control, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 2Institute for Environmental Research, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 3Departmemt of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran 4Department of Medical Entomology and Vector Control, Faculty of Health, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, Iran 5Infectious and Tropical Diseases Research Center, Hormozgan Health Institute, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, Iran (Received 7 Mar 2018; accepted 2 Jan 2019) Abstract Background: The abundance, diversity, distribution and ecology of mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae), especially ar- bovirus vectors are important indices for arthropod-borne diseases control. Methods: Larvae and adult mosquitoes were collected using the standard methods from different habitats in nine localities of three counties in the East Azerbaijan Province, Northwestern Iran during June to October 2017. In addi- tion, species richness (R), Simpson’s diversity index (D), Shannon–Wiener index (H)̕ and evenness (E) as measures of diversity, were calculated. Results: Overall, 1401 mosquito specimens including 1015 adults and 386 larvae were collected in the study area. The properties of geographical larval habitats were recorded. Four genera along with 10 species were collected and identified, including Anopheles hyrcanus, An. maculipennis s.l., An. superpictus s.l., Aedes caspius, Ae. vexans, Cu- lex pipiens, Cx. theileri, Cx. perexiguus, Culiseta longiareolata and Cs. subochrea. Among the three counties, Ahar region presented the highest species richness (R: 1.5) and diversity values (D: 0.79, H’: 1.74, E: 0.73). Conclusions: This study provides important information on the diversity, distribution and ecology of ten mosquito species in the region. This information leads to a better understanding of mosquito population dynamics in relation to vector control measures. Keywords: Diversity; Ecology; Mosquitoes; Arbovirus vectors; Iran Introduction Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) are sub- and Aedes. Among the Culicidae, the Aedes order of Nematocera and Culicidae family, species have the most various species and are which are the medically-important species for extremely important in medical cases (5). malaria transmission, types of filariasis, types of Mosquitoes play a crucial role in trans- encephalitis and other arboviral diseases (1-2). mission of some important diseases such as The Culicidae family includes 2 subfamilies, 11 malaria, filariasis, dengue fever, yellow fever, tribes; The Culicidae family includes 2 subfam- chikungunya, West Nile virus and Zika virus ilies, 41 Families, 11 tribes, 113 genera and which are today among the greatest health 3563 species (1-4). The most important genera problems in the world (6-9). of the Culicidae family are Anopheles, Culex Mosquitoes larvae have the power to col- 62 * Corresponding author: Dr Mohammad Ali Oshaghi, http://jad.tums.ac.ir E-mail: [email protected] Published Online: April 27, 2019 J Arthropod-Borne Dis, March 2019, 13(1): 62–75 A Paksa et al.: Biodiversity of … onize and live in a wide variety of natural and than 30 different viral diseases, including East- artificial habitats, such as temporary and per- ern horse encephalitis, Japanese encephalitis manent water resources, unclean and clean (20), California encephalitis, Western horse en- water, large or small water resources, stagnant cephalitis (21), as well as other pathogens such or stream waters and even the smallest places as Tularemia and Dirofilaria immitis (22-23). where water is gathered, such as buckets of Aedes vexans along with Ae. aegypti and Cx. water, pots, tires, bromeliads, animal feet prints quinquefasciatus, have the highest global dis- and plant leaf axes (10-11). Adult mosquitoes tribution among other mosquitoes in the world are very diverse bionomically, for example, (24-25). they are too diverse in host searching, biting Several studies were conducted on com- behaviors, dispersal and reproductive strate- position, distribution and ecology of mosqui- gies (9). Two factors (abiotic and biotic) affect toes in Iran (26-44). Considering the fact that mosquito life cycle. The biotic factors contain in the East Azarbaijan Province, some vector adult sugar and blood meal types, species com- mosquitoes of diseases such as West Nile, Diro- munications, interactions and natural enemies. filariasis and malaria present, study on the com- Physicochemical attributes of larval habitats position, distribution and ecology of mosquito are abiotic factors, which include the type and species is very important in different aspects of contents of water, temperature and rainfall. vector control programs. This study will add There are complex interactions between these important information about the composition, factors that significantly affect mosquito eco- distribution, ecology and diversity of mosquito logical adaptability and vectorial capacity for species such as establishment of mosquitoes disease transmission with significant concepts in this region. This new and important infor- for vector management and control at the lo- mation will help us to correctly control and cal and regional levels (12-13). Accordingly, monitor strategies of disease vectors, such as investigating biotic and abiotic factors for var- Ae. caspius, Ae. vexans, Cx. pipiens and Cx. ious mosquito fauna make it easier to moni- theileri. This information helps us to prevent tor potential modifications of larval habitats important vectors from increasing and estab- affected by rains, global climate change and lishment in this area due to change in human man-made activities (12-13). activities and weather; thus, the risk of trans- Aedes caspius likely transmit the human mission of disease by mosquitoes gets mini- pathogen, such as Spiroplasma sabaudiensc mized. and Crisiulospora aedis (14). These mosqui- The aim of this study was to determine toes transmit Rift Valley fever virus (RVF), composition, distribution and some ecologi- West Nile virus (WNV) and Tahyan virus (15). cal aspects of mosquitoes in East Azerbaijan In the region of Palearctic, Ae. caspius inhab- Province, Iran which is high medically im- its in lakes, pools, shores of Great Britain, and portance from the point of view of the arbo- fresh-water and lower salt marshes in the con- viral vectors. tinental parts of Europe, Russia, Mongolia, northern China, Pakistan, northeastern Africa, Asia Minor, and the Persian Gulf (17-18). Materials and Methods Aedes vexans has several subspecies, the typical species is Ae. vexans vexans, and the Study area subspecies Ae. nipponii vexans in East Asia East Azerbaijan Province is located in (19) and Ae. vexans arabiensis in Saudi Ara- northwestern of Iran between 39º 26´–36º 45´ bia, Yemen and Africa (3). This species is ex- N latitudes and 45º 5´–48º 22´ E longitudes. tremely important in medicine and has more The province covers an area of approximate- 63 http://jad.tums.ac.ir Published Online: April 27, 2019 J Arthropod-Borne Dis, March 2019, 13(1): 62–75 A Paksa et al.: Biodiversity of … ly 47,830km², it has a population of around visually or using special equipment (9, 47). four million people (Fig. 1, Table 1). This province contains 19 counties. Tabriz Data analysis City is center of the province which 1360m The species richness (R: Margalef index), above sea level. The mean annual rainfall is unified indices (D: Simpson’s diversity index about 300mm. The average relative humidity and H:̕ Shannon–Wiener index) and evenness changes are from 44%. The averages of the (E: distribution of abundances among the spe- maximum and minimum temperatures are cies) as measures of a diversity, were calcu- 17.7 °C and 6.8 °C, respectively, and the av- lated for East Azerbaijan Province and dif- erage temperature is 12.3 °C. The province ferent study counties. includes arid and semiarid climates (Fig. 1, The formulae and their rationale in the Table 1). present study are summarized below: Mosquito collection, site selection and spe- cies identification For mosquito collection, nine sites with different biotopes in three counties of Ahar, Marand, and Tabriz from East Azerbaijan Prov- ince were selected. Collection of mosquito’s larvae was per- formed in different habitats using the stand- ard dipping technique (using 350ml Clark’s dippers) and whirl pack bags (45) (Table 2). Light trap, mosquito net and aspirator was used Results for adult mosquito collection. Collection of mosquitoes was carried out during June to Oc- Totally, 1401 mosquitoes were collected tober 2017. Larvae and adult mosquitoes were from nine sites in East Azerbaijan Province identified by morphological characters (46). during June–October 2017, including 1015 adult and 386 larvae. The properties of geo- Physical and biological characteristics of graphical larval habitats (Latitude, Longitude larval habitats and altitude) have been shown in (Fig. 1, Table In these investigation characteristics of 1). Four genera