C-34 Mosquito Impoundment Project

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The C-34 Mosquito Impoundment Project was a collaboration in the Thousand Islands during the 1970s between Brevard County Mosquito Control, The Florida Medical Entomological Laboratory, and NASA. [1] This project was conducted to test the ability of remote sensing to detect flooding stress in mangroves during flooding for mosquito control.

The Thousand Islands are a group of natural, modified, and spoil islands in the Banana River Lagoon, Cocoa Beach, in Brevard County, Florida. From the late 1950s to the early 1970s the islands were reshaped by development and efforts to control mosquitoes as the population of Brevard grew during the initial period of the space program at Cape Canaveral and Kennedy Space Center.

NASA space-related agency of the United States government

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the United States Federal Government responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and aerospace research.

Mangrove A shrub or small tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water

A mangrove is a shrub or small tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves occur worldwide in the tropics and subtropics, mainly between latitudes 25° N and 25° S. The total mangrove forest area of the world in 2000 was 137,800 square kilometres (53,200 sq mi), spanning 118 countries and territories.

Contents

Mosquito control in the Cocoa Beach area was initially provided by application of various pesticides, including DDT. [2] Cocoa Beach was the site of initial field tests for DDT, and one of the first locations where resistance was noted. [3] This led to use of source reduction in addition to pesticides.

DDT Organochloride known for its insecticidal properties

Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, commonly known as DDT, is a colorless, tasteless, and almost odorless crystalline chemical compound, an organochlorine, originally developed as an insecticide, and ultimately becoming infamous for its environmental impacts. It was first synthesized in 1874 by the Austrian chemist Othmar Zeidler. DDT's insecticidal action was discovered by the Swiss chemist Paul Hermann Müller in 1939. DDT was used in the second half of World War II to control malaria and typhus among civilians and troops. Müller was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for his discovery of the high efficiency of DDT as a contact poison against several arthropods" in 1948.

Source reduction is a mechanical modification of habitat to decrease mosquito production. The saltmarsh mosquito will not lay its eggs in standing water, preferring seasonally-flooded sand or mud instead. The concept behind source reduction is to convert seasonally-flooded marsh to either upland or submerged land.

Source reduction began to be used in the late 1950s in Cocoa Beach. In this beginning phase small ditches were dug through the islands to allow water movement and fish access to inner areas of the succulent marsh. This approach had limited success. During the late 1960s Brevard County Mosquito Control began dredging the Thousand Islands south of Minutemen Causeway to eliminate ephemeral ponds necessary for saltmarsh mosquito breeding. [4] This destruction of wetlands set the stage for an approach that would retain wetlands but still reduce the production of saltmarsh mosquitoes. This approach is known as impoundment, in which an area of salt marsh is surrounded by a dike with a means to flood and empty the marsh, generally by pump.

Construction

Construction plan for C-34 Impoundment. Construction plan for C-34 Impoundment.jpg
Construction plan for C-34 Impoundment.

Construction plans called for completion of a perimeter dike around the subject section of islands, with the dike carried inside of a shell midden to avoid flooding tropical vegetation found there. [6] A pump house allowed flooding of the impoundment during the summer rainy season when mosquito breeding is most intense. Flapper valve gates at the north and south ends of the impoundment were installed to allow closure during flooding and opening during the dry season to allow water exchange with the lagoon.

Perimeter dike of C-34 impoundment. Perimeter dike of C-34 impoundment.jpg
Perimeter dike of C-34 impoundment.

A test cell was constructed so as to be flooded separately from the main impoundment. This area was to be flooded sufficiently to inundate black mangrove (Avicennia germinans) pneumatophores, in hopes that stress could be detected by false infrared aerial photography. [7] Several flights were flown but stress could not be detected by remote sensing before it was evident on the ground. This is thought to have been due to the propensity for black mangroves to drop their leaves all at once rather than slowly enough for color changes to be picked up in the photographs. [8]

Remains of C-34 impoundment pump house. Remains of C-34 impoundment pump house.jpg
Remains of C-34 impoundment pump house.

Active management of the impoundment ended in the early 1980s.

Notes

This area is also known as Gumbo Limbo Island and "The Ring" by locals.

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References

  1. ↑ Greenberg, Joel (November 5, 1973). "NASA Test Drowns Mosquitoes, Effects on Land Are Studied". Miami Herald.
  2. ↑ Beidler, John (2011). "Former Director, Indian River Mosquito Control District". Personal Communication.
  3. ↑ Patterson, Gordon (2004). The Mosquito Wars: A History of Mosquito Control in Florida. Gainesville: University Press of Florida. ISBN   978-0813027203.
  4. ↑ Salmela, Jack (2000). "Former Director, Brevard County Mosquito Control". Personal Communication.
  5. ↑ Greenberg, Joel (November 5, 1973). "NASA Test Drowns Mosquitoes, Effects on Land Are Studied". Miami Herald.
  6. ↑ Provost, Maurice (1973). "Salt Marsh Management in Florida". Annual Proceedings, Conference on Ecological Animal Control by Habitat Management. 5.
  7. ↑ Eller, Joseph (1973). "Control of Mosquito Breeding Through Flooding without Destroying Mangrove Trees". Proceedings of the Regional Sciences and applications Symposium.
  8. ↑ Beidler, John (2011). "Former Director, Indian River Mosquito Control District". Personal Communication.

Coordinates: 28°19′22″N80°37′41″W / 28.3227845°N 80.6281073°W / 28.3227845; -80.6281073

Geographic coordinate system Coordinate system

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