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Medical, Urban, and Veterinary Entomology

Section Symposium

Where the Wild Things Are: One Health at the Wildlife-Arthropod Interface On-Demand Presentations

The role of gopher tortoises' burrows in mosquito overwintering strategy in Florida

On-Demand

Presenting Author(s)

Estelle Martin (she/her/hers)

Assistant Professor
University of Florida
Gainesville, Florida

Co-author(s)

MM

Mba Mosore

University of Florida
Gainesville, Florida
KL

Kendall Long

University of Florida
Gainesville, Florida
rP

remy Powel

University of Florida
Gainesville, Florida

Co-Author(s)

LR

Lawrence Reeves

University of Florida
Vero Beach, Florida
NB

Nathan Burkett-Cadena

University of Florida
Vero Beach, Florida

Gopher tortoises (Gopherus polphemus) are a threatened keystone species in the southeastern United States including Florida. Their burrows provide refuge for over 400 types of species including but not limited to mammals, and reptiles. Their role in mosquito and virus overwintering strategies is limited. The purpose of this study is to 1) determine the mosquito species community composition and the host they feed on in the gopher tortoise burrows, 2) characterize the impact of habitat and season on mosquito abundance, and 3) report on WNV prevalence in mosquitoes collected. A modified Prokopack aspirator was used to collect mosquitoes from 24 burrows within the Ordway Swisher Biological Station, in Putnam County, Florida. Mosquitoes were sampled once a month for a total of 1 min per burrow in 24 burrows located in forested and sandhill environments. Collections revealed that a limited number of mosquito species were using the gopher tortoise burrow and that variation in mosquito abundance was observed according to the time of sampling.