SCIENTIFIC NOTE MOSQUITO FAUNA IN THE MANGROVES OF YUCATAN, MEXICO, AND IDENTIFICATION OF ALPHAVIRUS RNA JULIAN E. GARCIA-REJON, 1 JULIO C. TZUC-DZUL, 1 KAREN Y. LOPEZ-CARRILLO, 1 NOHEMI CIGARROA-TOLEDO, 2 ROSA C. CETINA-TREJO, 1 WILBERT A. CHI-CHIM, 1 LOURDES G. TALAVERA-AGUILAR, 1 LAURA I. LOPEZ-APODACA 1 AND CARLOS M. BAAK-BAAK 1,3 ABSTRACT. The surveillance of arboviruses in mangrove mosquitoes is a neglected topic in Mexico. The Yucatan State is part of a peninsula and, therefore, is rich in mangroves along its coast. The purpose of the study was to identify alphavirus in the mosquito fauna of mangroves. Mosquitoes were captured in mangrove settings in seven communities in Yucatan between June 2019 and August 2021. From 1900 to 2200 h and from 0500 to 0800 h, mosquitoes were captured with a backpack-mounted aspirator. In total, 3,167 female mosquitoes of five genera and nine species were captured. Aedes taeniorhynchus and Anopheles crucians were the most abundant mosquitoes collected. Mosquitoes were sorted into 210 pools and tested by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction for alphavirus ribonucleic acid (RNA). Alphavirus RNA was found in Ae. taeniorhynchus, An. pseudopunctipennis, and An. crucians collected in the Celestun Mangrove. The community is part of the Ria Celestun Biosphere Reserve, and the presence arbovirus-infected mosquitoes could pose a health risk to residents and visitors alike in the area. KEY WORDS Aedes, Anopheles, coastal areas, arbovirus, Mexico The surveillance of arboviruses in mangrove mosquitoes is a neglected issue in Mexico. However, there is a background of alphaviruses and orthobun- yaviruses in mosquitoes linked to coastal areas (Scherer et al. 1971; Farfan-Ale et al. 2009, 2010; Adams et al. 2012). Experimental studies have determined that Anopheles freeborni Atken, An. gambiae s.s., An. quadrimaculatus Say, and An. stephensi Liston are competent vectors of the Mayaro virus (Brustolin et al. 2018). In the mangroves of Colombia, mosquitoes naturally infected with alpha- virus and flavivirus RNA were identified (Hoyos- L´ opez et al. 2016). Approximately 70% of the Yucatan Coast is covered with mangroves (Rodr´ ıguez-Z´ u˜ niga et al. 2013). The mangroves are rich in mosquitoes, mammals, and birds, which are key components in the transmission of arboviruses (Farfan-Ale et al. 2004, Nagelkerken et al. 2008, Bond et al. 2014, Baak-Baak et al. 2016, Manrique-Saide et al. 2016). Disturbances in the mangroves (e.g., agricultural, livestock, aquaculture, and tourism) affect the ecological interactions of native species (Nagelkerk- en et al. 2008, Rodr´ ıguez-Z´ u˜ niga et al. 2013), and the emergence of pathogens can occur. In a previous study, wild birds were caught in the Yucatan mangroves, and the green jay, Cyanocorax yncas (Boddaert), was positive for the St. Louis encepha- litis virus (Farfan-Ale et al. 2004). Therefore, it is critical to figure out whether the mosquito fauna of mangroves are potential vectors and pose a health concern to people who live in or visit these areas. The study aimed to determine the mosquito fauna in mangrove habitats as well as to identify arboviruses of the genus Alphavirus. Yucatan State is located in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula and is bordered by the states of Quintana Roo and Campeche. The Yucatecan Coast is located in the northern part of the state, where a dry and semi-dry climate predominates. Overall, rainfall is highest from June to October (typically .100 mm/ month), with sporadic rainfall occurring during the remainder of the year (Baak-Baak et al. 2016). The study was carried out in the mangroves of seven communities located along the coast of the Yucatan State (Fig. 1). Mosquitoes were captured from June to November 2019, January and February 2020, and August 2021, using a backpack-mounted aspirator (Prokopack Aspiratort, Gainesville, FL). The hours captured were from 1900 to 2200 h and 0500 to 0800 h. Two entomologists sat comfortably, and mosquitoes that flew by or landed on the bodies of the entomologists were captured. Mosquitoes were transported alive to the Laboratory of Arbovirologia at the Universidad Aut´ onoma de Yucata ´n. Stereomicroscopes and tax- onomic keys were used to identify species (Clark-Gil and Darsie 1983, Velasquez 2014). Female mosqui- toes were sorted into pools of 15 and stored at  808C until required. Pools of female adults were placed into Eppendorf tubes containing 300 ll of Liebovitz’s L15 medium 1 Laboratorio de Arbovirolog´ ıa, Centro de Investiga- ciones Regionales Dr. Hideyo Noguchi, Universidad Aut´ onoma de Yucata ´n, M´ exico, C.P. 97225, M´ exico. 2 Laboratorio de Biolog´ ıa Celular, Centro de Inves- tigaciones Regionales Dr. Hideyo Noguchi, Universidad Aut´ onoma de Yucata ´n, M´ exico, C.P. 97000, M´ exico. 3 To whom correspondence should be addressed. 134 Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association, 39(2):134–137, 2023 Copyright Ó 2023 by The American Mosquito Control Association, Inc. Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/jamca/article-pdf/39/2/134/3229734/i1943-6270-39-2-134.pdf by guest on 28 June 2023