Seasonal weather, nutrients, and conspecific presence impacts on the southern house mosquito oviposition dynamics in combined sewage overflows

Abstract

Combined sewage overflows have created favorable conditions for the establishment of the southern house mosquito, Culex quinquefasciatus Say (Diptera: Culicidae), larvae in natural creeks that would otherwise be unsuitable for the development of this mosquito species. Here, we show the results from a seminatural experiment carried over the three seasons of mosquito activity (spring, summer, and fall) in Tanyard Creek, Atlanta, GA. In this study we manipulated the amount of nutrients by further enriching combined sewage overflow water, and tracked weather variables, organic nutrient concentration, exposure time to conspecifics, and the number of egg rafts collected in experimental containers. We found season and nutrient enrichment to be the most important variables explaining the differences in egg rafts counts. Further analyses suggest that temperature may also play a role in seasonal oviposition patterns. The results from this study suggest that nutrient enrichment and adequate temperatures are important factors shaping Cx. quinquefasciatus oviposition seasonality in combined sewage overflows.