Mosquitoes as Bioindicators of Forest Degradation in Southeastern Brazil, a Statistical Evaluation of Published Data in the Literature

Abstract

The data of 20 mosquito surveys performed in areas of tropical forest in southeastern Brazil were analyzed by means of multivariate statistical procedures (correspondence analysis and cluster analysis). The results are interpreted in relation to the degree of degradation reported for each forest in the collecting sites, allowing the selection of species or groups of species that act as good indicators of local environmental changes. By this approach the different localities were scaled along a gradient of anthropogenic modifications correlated with a particular mosquito fauna. The resulting model allows to classify different woods in southeastern Brazil according to their state of preservation, by means of their mosquito species. Four bioindicators for the particular levels of forest degradation in southeastern Brazil are proposed: Kerteszia, Aedes scapularis, Mansoniini and Haemagogus.