Abstract:

The Three Parallel River Region is an epicentre of Chinese biodiversity, which is reputed as one of the world’s 25 major “biodiversity hotspots”. However, few study has been done on the notorious mosquitoes in this area. We surveyed the mosquitoes in relation to latitude and elevation along the Lancang River (24°-30°N, 1,000-3,500 m asl). Adult mosquito samples were captured using UV light traps from July to September 2005 in the mountainous residential areas. A total of 76,458 adult mosquitoes were collected and identified as 36 species of 5 genera in 2 subfamilies. The results showed: (1) species richness gradually decreased with the increasing latitude but showed a single-peak curve pattern along the altitudinal gradient; (2) α diversity decreased first and then increased slightly along the increasing latitude, showing a wave-like curve along the altitudinal gradient; (3) β diversity (Cody index) was higher in the transitional climate zones, and the same pattern was found along the altitudinal gradient, which reflected the influence of geographical environment and climate on the species composition, fauna and diversity distribution pattern of mosquitoes; (4) Mosquito species were classified into three main ecological types by cluster analysis, namely Oriental fauna, Palaearctic fauna, and the transitional fauna between them; and (5) the result from canonical correspondence analysis indicated that precipitation is the key factor influencing spatial distribution pattern of mosquito diversity in the study area.

Key words: mosquito, biodiversity, spatial distribution pattern, mountainous region, residential area, Lancang River, natural protected territory, “Three Parallel River Region” of Yunnan Province