Coachella Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District

Board of Trustees Meeting

July 8, 2008

Agenda Item:   New Business

Approval of the Budget for the Cooperative Agreement between USDA- Agricultural Research Service Mosquito and Fly Research Unit at the Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology (MFRU-CMAVE) in Gainesville, Florida, and the Coachella Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District in cooperation with the Navy Entomology Center of Excellence (NECE), Jacksonville Naval Air Station, Jacksonville, Florida for FY 2008-09. Branka Lothrop, Scientific Operations Manager

 

Background:

The cooperative agreement’s objective is to test new mosquito and fly repellent, inhibitor and control products, and application strategies, such as assessing the efficacy of perimeter treatments of bifenthrin and ULV applications of other insecticides to control Culex tarsalis adults in a desert environment. The Annual Report (including the budget for FY 2007/08) and the budget for FY 2008/09 of the cooperative agreement are attached for your review.

 

The District will receive $30,000.00 for the second year of the agreement, which includes

§         Over time for Support Staff - $15,000.00

§    Expenses for materials and supplies, dry ice and  6V batteries for mosquito traps, supplies   needed for expanding mosquito colony needed for laboratory and field trails - $5,000.00

§         Domestic travel for  two  District staff to attend  two Annual meetings in 2008/2009 - $7,000.00

§         Foreign travel for one District staff to attend International meeting in 2009- $3,000.00

 

At the June 10, 2008, Board of Trustees Meeting, the Board approved the District’s FY 2008-2009 budget. The Research program Budget Line Item 8510.01.600.01 Expenses from USDA Coop Agreement total budget is $44,000. This includes the amount reimbursed from the Agreement and the in-kind expenses provided by the District. The reimbursement will be recorded as Other Miscellaneous Revenue Budget Line Item 4050.01.000.

 

Staff Recommendation:

Staff recommends approval to authorize the Interim General Manager to execute an extension for one additional year the cooperative agreement with USDA-Agricultural Research Service Mosquito and Fly Research Unit at the Center for Medical, Agricultural and veterinary Entomology (MFRU-CMAVE) in Gainesville, Florida and to approve the attached budget for FY 08/09 as presented.

 

 

Fiscal Impact:

The Cooperative Agreement Budget is attached.

 

Annual Report

 

 

Cooperator Name-The Coachella Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District

 

Principal Investigators-Donald E. Gomsi, Branka B. Lothrop

 

ARS Agreement Number-58-6615-6-151

 

Title of Project- Evaluation of Repellents, Inhibitors, Barrier Treatments, and ULV Insecticides, & other New Products in a Southern California Desert Habitat

 

Reporting period covered-30 August 2007-31 May 2008

 

 

The Cooperator agreed to the following:

 

1.          Conduct at Cooperator’s facilities research directed towards studies directed at evaluating mosquito repellent, inhibitor and control compounds in mosquitoes in a desert Environment.

 

The Goal of the New Barrier Treatment Study

The goal was to assess the efficacy and longevity of new mosquito control products in a desert environment under hot, dry, dusty, windy conditions with strong sunlight and high UV.

 

Description of Study Area  

The Coachella Valley is the upper region of the Salton Sea basin in Southern California that is populated by close to half a million people. The valley extends for approximately 45 miles (72 km) in Riverside County southeast from the San Bernardino Mountains to the Salton Sea, the largest lake in California. It is approximately 15 miles (24 km) wide along most of its length, bounded on the west by the San Jacinto Mountains and the Santa Rosa Mountains and on the north and east by the Little San Bernardino Mountains. The San Andreas Fault runs along the NE side of the valley from the Chocolate Mountains in the southeast corner and along the foot of the Little San Bernardino. Geographically it is the agricultural and recreational desert valley in southern California.  The Salton Sea and peripheral desert separates the agro-ecosystems of the Coachella and Imperial Valleys.  The Coachella Valley slopes downward from residential areas surrounding the City of Palm Springs in the NW at an elevation of 150 m to intensely irrigated agriculture in the SE along the Salton Sea at an elevation of 70 m below sea level.  The Whitewater channel runs down the middle of the Coachella Valley and is normally dry above Indio since the water mainly sinks into the porous desert. During floods, runoff water carries a heavy load of sediment into the north end of the Salton Sea, creating a delta region.

 

Climate  

Climate in SE California typically is dry with little rain, usually concentrated during a brief summer monsoon and winter rains.  Temperatures are mild during winter and extremely hot during summer, when maximum temperatures approach 45°C.  The desert environment, with its extremely high temperatures, very arid conditions, intense sunlight, and unpredictable winds and particulate matter in the atmosphere, provide particular challenges to barrier and ULV insecticide applications.

Rainfall and temperature were reported from a portable Davis weather station(Vantage Pro 2 data logger) located at the study site of desert brush adjacent to the Salton Sea marshes and upland orchard and vineyard habitat (116° 03’ 53” West /33° 27’ 38”)

 

Project Summary

We used a large desert area in Coachella Valley, California, to evaluate barrier treatments of bifenthrin on both native vegetation and current issue military camouflage netting under extreme field conditions of heat, dust, and near zero humidity. This desert field was situated between an orange grove and a retention pond area, in a region gridded with active canals and within 0.25 mi of the Salton Sea; thus we expected abundant wild mosquitoes to be present. The approximately 1200’ x 1200’ field was large enough to accommodate nine 50’ x 50’ vegetation plots at least 90’ apart, four 10’ x 10’ x 6’ camouflage netting enclosures at least 150’ apart, and two 30’ x 30’ x 8’ camouflage netting tents at least 200’ apart. Enclosures were at least 300’ from the vegetation plots, and the tents were at least 200’ from the enclosures. We partitioned the vegetation plots with a stratified random design, accounting for sparse, medium, and dense desert vegetation, for three treatments with a Stihl® backpack sprayer, three treatments with an Electrolon® electrostatic sprayer, and three untreated controls. Three of the netting enclosures and one of the tents were chosen to be treated with the Stihl® sprayer, leaving one untreated control enclosure and one untreated tent. We applied Talstar® bifenthrin in water at the label rate to all treatment plots assuming a 6’ high barrier for each perimeter. Using a combination of bioassays and chemical assays on vegetation and camouflage material periodically sampled from these plots over 28 days, synchronized with field surveillance of mosquitoes from suction traps baited with CO2 placed within treatment and control plot areas, we measured the temporal pattern of bioactivity of bifenthrin on natural and artificial substrates under extreme desert conditions.

 

We carried out all bioassays in the laboratories at the Coachella Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District. Wearing nitrile gloves we gathered vegetation and fabric samples by plot into separate, labeled IR-4-approved inert sample bags and changed gloves and cleaned all cutting instruments with 90% ethanol in between plots. We stowed all sample bags in insulated coolers upon retrieval from the field, and quickly transferred them to a -75ºC ultracold freezer in the laboratory to minimize degradation of the bifenthrin after sampling. The bioassay set-up was generally the same for both vegetation and fabric samples: we placed a cut sprig of vegetation, or a small ribbon of fabric held aloft on a metal skewer, into a 30 mm x 140 mm glass culture tube with 10 cold-anaesthetized female Culex tarsalis mosquitoes. We sealed the tube with white polyester no-see-um netting held in place with two silicone O-rings, and stored it horizontally in a metal rack. We recorded mortality of female mosquitoes at six, 24 and 48 hours into an Excel® spreadsheet. In the field our goal was to collect twenty 12 cm sprigs of vegetation from each vegetation plot and one 10 cm x 20 cm piece of fabric from each camouflage netting plot, which would provide enough for 10 bioassays for each plot and additional material for later chemical analysis.

 

2.       Provide necessary personnel, travel of those personnel, equipment supplies, and facilities to accomplish these objectives as mutually agreed upon.

 

Mosquito Sampling (CVMVCD Staff)

Sampling during the current study focused on 9 plots (50ft x 50ft each) of desert scrub, consisting mostly of Salicornia sp., Artiplex sp., Pluchea sp. and Tamarix sp., 3 artificial plots with camouflage tent, and 3 plots of camouflage net barrier structures. 

Mosquito sampling was conducted from March 18 to April 16, totaling 112 trap nights (7 nights of 16 traps), using dry ice-baited CDC-style traps (CO2 traps) without lights.

Collections were returned alive to the laboratory where a rough count in each trap was done. A rough estimate of percent mosquito survival after 12 hrs and 24 hrs was done of each collection for every trap.  Mosquitoes were then frozen, and an exact count was done for each trap. Data were entered into an Excel® spreadsheet created by USDA-Research staff, and e-mailed to them for statistical analysis.  

 

Plant and  Fabric sampling (CVMVCD Staff)

Ten replicates for each of 9 vegetation plots (90 samples) and 5 replicas for each of 6 plots of camouflage netting (30 samples) were sampled 8 times, for total of 960 samples and an additional 10 samples of camouflage netting controls.  Twenty potted nursery-obtained California myrtle plants were sampled 5 times, with 5 replicates (200 samples) for total of 500 samples.

 The overall number of bioassay samples (vegetation clippings, camouflage netting and California Myrtle plants) in the study was 1470.

     

Plant and Fabric Bioassays (CVMVCD Staff)

Bioassays were conducted to determine the longevity of the spray applications and the breakdown products of the insecticides. 

 Eight times during the study,  10 vegetation samples from 9 plots, 10 camouflage netting samples from 6 plots , and five  times of  20 vegetation samples of potted nursery-obtained California myrtle plants, were collected, bagged, labeled and kept in a ultracold  freezer at -750F until bioassays were performed.

 

The Bioassay were done with close to 15 0000 CVMVCD colony raised Culex tarsalis females using Pyrex® glass flat-bottomed tubes ( 40x130), with 10 female mosquitoes and vegetation clippings/camouflage netting from each site in each tube. Camouflage netting from each site was skewered on a peace of wire that fitted the glass tube to provide stiffness and better resting surface for mosquitoes.  After sorting to gender using chill tables, mosquitoes were introduced into the tubes where the vegetation clippings and camouflage netting were already in place. The bioassay tubes were kept in the colony room, at 820F and 60%of RH. The results were read at 6hr, 24hr and 48hr, and data were entered into an Excel® spreadsheet previously created by USDA-Research staff. After each bioassay experiment, the data were e-mailed to USDA-Research staff for statistical analysis.  

After the bioassays, vegetation, and material was shipped to USDA-Agriculture Research Service Mosquito and Fly Research Unit at the Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology (MFRU-CMAVE) in Gainesville, Florida for GC/MS analysis to determine the amount of residual pesticide on the vegetation.

 

3.       The Cooperator reserves the right to determine the location and type of the novelty products that will be tested within its jurisdiction.

Study location and products used was determined in agreement with ARS staff.

 

The following scientific manuscript is in preparation.

 

Evaluation of barrier treatments on natural and artificial substrates in a southern California desert habitat 

Seth C. Britch1*, Kenneth J. Linthicum1, Wayne W. Wynn1, Todd W. Walker2, Muhammad Farooq2, Vincent L. Smith2, Cathy A. Robinson2, Branka B. Lothrop3, Melissa Snelling3, Arturo Gutierrez3, Hugh D. Lothrop4

 

1United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Center for Medical, Agricultural, and Veterinary Entomology, 1600 SW 23rd Dr. Gainesville, FL 32608; 2Navy Entomology Center of Excellence, Naval Air Station, P.O. Box 43, Jacksonville, FL 32212; 3Coachella Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District, 43-420 Trader Place, Indio, CA 92201; 4Arbovirus Research Unit, Center for Vectorborne Diseases, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

COOPERATOR:

 

 

 

D. under  G 

 

 

 

 Nonexpendable Equipment  (Attach supporting data)

       (List items and dollar amounts for each item)

 

 

Cost

 

 

Gasoline

 

$2,000

 

 

Office /storage space

 

$2,000

 

 

Field material & incidental

 

$2,000

 

 

Srveillance Equip.

 

$2,000

 

 

 

traps

 

 

 

 

dry ice

 

 

 

 

batteries

 

 

 

L.                Total Cost

 

$8,000

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

COOPERATOR:

 

D. under  G 

 

 Nonexpendable Equipment 

 

 

 

Cost

Gasoline

 

$2,000

Office /storage space

 

$2,000

Field material & incidental

 

$2,000

Srveillance Equip.

 

$2,000

 

traps

 

 

stands

 

            Total Cost

 

$8,000

 

 

 

COOPERATOR:

 

E. under  E 

 

Materials and supplies

 

ITEM

COST /each/lb

COST

DRY ICE

.99/lb -

$1,000

6V batteries

$20.00/each

$1,500

Chemicals

 

$1,500

Larval rearing material

 

$1,000

            Total Cost

 

$5,000

 

 

 

COOPERATOR:

 

E. under  F 

 

Travel

 

 

Domestic Travel

 

2 staff

2008 Annual SOVE Conference

 

Forth Collins, Colorado

 

Sep.28th - Oct.2nd '08

2 staff

5 th Annual  AMCA meeting

 

April 5-9, 2009

 

 

New Orleans

 

            Total Cost

 

$7,000

 

 

 

Travel - Forign

 

1 staff

5th International SOVE Congress

 

October 16-25, 2009

 

 

Antalya, Turkey

 

            Total Cost

 

$3,000