Development times (mean ± SE) for male and female (a) <i>Aedes aegypti</i>, (b) <i>Aedes albopictus</i> and (c) <i>Culex quinquefasciatus</i>, across detritus ratios (animal:leaf).

<p>Detritus ratios are expressed in units, where one unit = 0.10 g.</p

Means (±SE) of percent carbon and nitrogen for male and female <i>Aedes aegypti</i>, <i>A</i>. <i>albopictus</i>, and <i>Culex quinquefasciatus</i> grown under different animal and leaf detritus ratios (1 unit of detritus = 0.05 g).

<p>Pure samples of plant and animal detritus are also included. Only one replicate for female <i>A</i>. <i>aegypti</i> in the 1:1 ratio was useable and only one replicate of <i>C</i>. <i>quinquefasciatus</i> in the 0:10 ratio produced enough adults to analyze. All other combinations are the result of three replicates.</p

Results of multiple analysis of variance on nitrogen (mg) and carbon (mg) values in male and female <i>Aedes albopictus</i>, <i>A</i>. <i>aegypti</i>, and <i>Culex quinquefasciatus</i> across different ratios of plant and animal detritus.

<p>Significant effects are presented in bold.</p

Ratio of tissue nitrogen (N) and carbon (C) for adult mosquitoes across different a) species and ratios (animal:plant) and b) species and sex.

<p>Values are means ± SE from three replicates (except AE 1:1 and CX 0:10 which each had only one sample). Detritus ratios are expressed in units, where one unit = 0.10 g.</p

Results of multiple analysis of variance on δ¹⁵N and δ¹³C values in male and female <i>Aedes albopictus</i>, <i>A</i>. <i>aegypti</i>, and <i>Culex quinquefasciatus</i> across different ratios of plant and animal detritus.

<p>Significant effects are presented in bold.</p

Survivorship (mean ± SE of percentage surviving) of <i>Aedes aegypti</i>, <i>Aedes albopictus</i> and <i>Culex quinquefasciatus</i> across animal and leaf detritus ratios.

<p>Letters represent Tukey-post Hoc test results. Means sharing same letters are not significantly different. Detritus ratios are expressed in units, where one unit = 0.10 g.</p

Bacterial Communities Associated with <i>Culex</i> Mosquito Larvae and Two Emergent Aquatic Plants of Bioremediation Importance

<div><p>Microbes are important for mosquito nutrition, growth, reproduction and control. In this study, we examined bacterial communities associated with larval mosquitoes and their habitats. Specifically, we characterized bacterial communities associated with late larval instars of the western encephalitis mosquito (<i>Culex</i><i>tarsalis</i>), the submerged portions of two emergent macrophytes (California bulrush, <i>Schoenoplectus</i><i>californicus</i> and alkali bulrush, <i>Schoenoplectus</i><i>maritimus</i>), and the associated water columns to investigate potential differential use of resources by mosquitoes in different wetland habitats. Using next-generation sequence data from 16S rRNA gene hypervariable regions, the alpha diversity of mosquito gut microbial communities did not differ between pond mesocosms containing distinct monotypic plants. Proteobacteria, dominated by the genus <i>Thorsellia</i> (<i>Enterobacteriaceae</i>), was the most abundant phylum recovered from <i>C</i><i>. tarsalis</i> larvae. Approximately 49% of bacterial OTUs found in larval mosquitoes were identical to OTUs recovered from the water column and submerged portions of the two bulrushes. Plant and water samples were similar to one another, both being dominated by Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, <i>Cyanobacteria</i>, Proteobacteria and Verrucomicrobia phyla. Overall, the bacterial communities within <i>C</i><i>. tarsalis</i> larvae were conserved and did not change across sampling dates and between two distinct plant habitats. Although <i>Thorsellia</i> spp. dominated mosquito gut communities, overlap of mosquito gut, plant and water-column OTUs likely reveal the effects of larval feeding. Future research will investigate the role of the key indicator groups of bacteria across the different developmental stages of this mosquito species.</p> </div

Overlap of bacterial communities across habitats.

<p>Venn diagram illustrating overlapping of <i>Bacteria</i> OTUs and sequences between mosquito larvae and habitat (<i>C</i><i>. tarsalis</i> larvae; habitat = leaves of alkali and California bulrushes; water = water column samples). The first number represents the number of OTUs, while the number in parentheses represents the number of sequences.</p

Alpha diversity measures.

<p>Alpha diversity measures based on PD_Whole tree of the bacterial communities from mosquito larvae, water column and leaves. Sequences from mosquito samples are significantly less diverse than sequences from water and plant samples. The x-axis for the phylogenetic diversity of <i>Bacteria</i> communities from leaf samples is offset by 100 sequences for better illustration.</p

Taxonomic profiling of mosquito-water-plant microbiome profiles.

<p>PCoA plots of weighted UniFrac distances of bacterial communities in mosquitoes, water and leaf samples from mesocosms containing the two bulrushes (alkali and California bulrushes) from the three sampling dates. Panel A shows the OTUs associated with that region on the plot, scaled based on sequence abundance. Panel B shows a PCoA plot based on three DNA sources (mosquitoes, water and plant leaves), Panel C recolors samples of Panel B to highlight two plant species, Panel D recolors the same samples based on the three sample dates.</p