Publications

habitat segregation of dengue vectors along an urban environmental gradient.	differential distributions of aedes aegypti and ae. mediovittatus (potential inter-epidemic dengue vector) and other mosquitoes colonizing bamboo pots in san juan, puerto rico were studied along an urban-rural gradient. city regions (urban, suburban, and rural) and landscape elements within regions (forest [f], low-density housing [ldh], and high-density housing [hdh]) were identified using satellite imagery. aedes species extensively overlapped in ldh of urban, suburban, and rural areas. mosqui ...	2007	17488898
dynamics of aedes aegypti and culex quinquefasciatus in septic tanks.	aedes aegypti and culex quinquefasciatus were found in large numbers emerging from septic tanks in southern puerto rico during the dry season. previous studies suggested that ae. aegypti uses subterranean aquatic habitats only during dry periods when surface containers do not have water. this research investigated whether septic tanks are alternative aquatic habitats that this mosquito uses during unfavorable times of the year, or whether ae. aegypti uses this aquatic habitat throughout the year ...	2009	20099586
septic tanks as larval habitats for the mosquitoes aedes aegypti and culex quinquefasciatus in playa-playita, puerto rico.	adult aedes aegypti (linnaeus) (diptera: culicidae) were previously recovered from emergence traps on septic tanks in southeastern puerto rico. in this study we quantified immature mosquito abundance and its relationship with structural variables of the septic tanks and chemical properties of the water containing raw sewage. a miniaturized floating funnel trap was used to sample 89 septic tanks for larvae in the puerto rican community of playa-playita. aedes aegypti larvae were recovered from 18 ...	2010	20374477
mosquito vectors of west nile virus during an epizootic outbreak in puerto rico.	the purpose of this investigation was to identify the mosquito (diptera: culicidae) vectors of west nile virus (wnv; family flaviviridae, genus flavivirus) during an epizootic wnv outbreak in eastern puerto rico in 2007. in june 2006, 12 sentinel chicken pens with five chickens per pen were deployed in six types of habitats: herbaceous wetlands, mangrove forests, deciduous forests, evergreen forests, rural areas, and urban areas. once wnv seroconversion in chickens was detected in june 2007, we ...	2010	21175071
non-human primate antibody response to mosquito salivary proteins: implications for dengue virus transmission in puerto rico.	an important step to incriminate a mosquito as a vector of a disease pathogen is finding evidence of direct contact between the mosquito and humans. typically, this is accomplished through landing/biting catches, or host blood meal analysis in engorged mosquitoes via immunologic assays. an alternate approach is to identify the presence of specific mosquito anti-saliva protein antibodies in the blood of exposed hosts. following the discovery of dengue infected, free roaming non-human primates in ...	2016	27593498
assessing natural infection with zika virus in the southern house mosquito, culex quinquefasciatus, during 2016 in puerto rico.	the epidemic of zika in the western hemisphere has led to intense investigations of all species important in the transmission of zika virus (zikv), including putative mosquito vectors. although evidence points to stegomyia (= aedes) (diptera: culicidae) mosquitoes as the primary vectors in nature among humans, there remains the possibility that other common mosquito species may be implicated in the rapid spread of the virus. herein, field-caught culex quinquefasciatus (diptera: culicidae) collec ...	2017	29239003