[Culicidae fauna of Serra da Cantareira, Sao Paulo, Brazil].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the Culicidae fauna in forest, ecotone and anthropic environments and to analyze their composition according to the number of species and individuals, species richness, diversity, heterogeneity and similarities and to determine species dominance and the relationship between species dominance and climatic factors.
METHODS: CO2 -baited CDC light traps were used for mosquito collection twice a month in the Serra da Cantareira State Park from February 2001 to January 2002. CO2 - baited CDC light traps were placed in five different environments. The analyses were carried out using Margalef and Menhinick's diversity indexes. Similarity was calculated using the Sorensen index and species dominance was indicated by the Berger-Parker index. Mosquito heterogeneity was estimated using Simpson and Shannon indexes. The correlation between species dominance and climatic factors was estimated by Spearman's coefficient.
RESULTS: There were collected 2,219 Culicidae mosquitoes of 11 genera and 21 species. The forest environment showed the highest species richness (Mg=3.64) and the anthropic environment presented the most dominant species (d=0.85). Temperature showed the greatest positive correlation (Rs=0.747; p<0.0001) when analyzing the relationship between climatic factors and number of individuals caught in the study area.
CONCLUSIONS: As the Serra da Cantareira State Park is a forest patch inserted in an urban environment, this may have changed the ecological relationships in the Culicidae breeding sites. The absence of Kerteszia subgenus and Culex quinquefasciatus species, in addiction to the presence of Sabethini Tribe specimens and Cx. (Mel.) vaxus species indicate that the Serra da Cantareira State Park is a forest section with sylvan features but show some anthropic interference.