Dilemma of the traveling mosquito (Aedes aegypti): To fly or not to fly?

Container permanence (semi-permanent cemetery vases and ephemeral tires) and human-mediated dispersal (transport of tires) may affect the genetic structure and dispersal pattern of Aedes aegypti populations. We studied the population genetic structure, micro-spatial distribution and dispersal of Aedes aegypti (yellow fever mosquito) in two cities in south Florida (Tampa and Miami), using eight polymorphic microsatellite loci. All the loci included in our analyses showed high levels of gene diversity. Preliminary results from hierarchical AMOVA showed a marginally significant differentiation between tire and cemetery populations in Tampa, but not in Miami. Global tests of FST and RST indicate very low genetic differentiation across all populations.