Species composition and abundance of mosquito larvae in relation with their habitat characteristics in Mazandaran Province, northern Iran

2017 ◽  
Vol 107 (5) ◽  
pp. 598-610 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.H. Nikookar ◽  
M. Fazeli-Dinan ◽  
S. Azari-Hamidian ◽  
S.N. Mousavinasab ◽  
M. Arabi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Variables ◽  
Larval Density ◽  
Larval Habitat ◽  
Habitat Characteristics ◽  
Mosquito Larvae ◽  
Mazandaran Province ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Northern Iran ◽  
Monthly Basis ◽  
Larval Habitats

AbstractMosquitoes transmit a variety of diseases to humans. Their abundance and distribution are related to the characteristics of larval habitats. Mosquito larvae were collected from 120 natural and artificial habitats in 30 villages of 16 counties using standard 350 ml dippers and pipette, on a monthly basis from May–December 2014 in Mazandaran Province, northern Iran. Larval habitat characteristics were recorded separately, based on the conditions of the habitats (permanent or temporary, stagnant or running), type of habitats (natural or artificial), vegetation, exposure to sun, type of bed, water condition (clear or turbid), expanse (m), depth (cm, m) and temperature (°C) of habitats. The relationship between larval density and environmental variables was assessed by Chi-square tests. Totally, 19,840 larvae from three genera and 16 species were collected and identified.Anopheles maculipennis s.l.andCulex pipienswere the dominant species and collected with the highest density in plain areas. The highest number of larvae were collected from natural habitats (60.34%), including; river edge, marsh, pit and wetlands; with temporary and stagnant water, expanse of 0–5 m, depth of 1–25 cm, without plant, shadow-sun, muddy floor, turbid water, temperature 20–25°C and in sunny conditions. River edge and rice fields forAn. maculipennis s.land, wetlands and discarded tires forCx. pipienswere the main larval habitats in the province. Statistical analysis revealed significant relation between occurrence ofAn. maculipennis s.l., Cx. pipiens, Culex torrentium, Culex mimeticusandCs. annulatawith each of the environmental variables (P< 0.001). These findings are essential in expanding our knowledge of the vectors ecology specially the type of habitat preference and will be beneficial in larval control programs.

scholarly journals Fauna and Larval Habitats Characteristics of Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) in Golestan Province, Northeast of Iran, 2014–2015

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aioub Sofizadeh ◽  
Hamid Reza Shoraka ◽  
Fatemeh Mesgarian ◽  
Ghorban Mohammad Ozbaki ◽  
Abdolsamad Gharaninia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Type ◽  
Larval Habitat ◽  
Habitat Characteristics ◽  
Northern Iran ◽  
Important Species ◽  
Larval Habitats ◽  
Medical Entomology ◽  
Golestan Province ◽  
Culiseta Longiareolata ◽  
Species Characteristics

Background: Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) is one of the most medically important families of Diptera. The aims of this study were to determine fauna and larval habitat characteristics of mosquitoes in Golestan Province, during 2014–15. Methods: This study was conducted in larval habitats of mosquitoes and installed ovitraps in 14 districts of Golestan Province, Northern Iran in 2015. Samples were collected with a scoop by ladle handling for entomology. The col­lected larvae were transferred to Laboratory of Medical Entomology in lactophenol solution. Then microscopic slides were prepared using de Faure's formula. Species of each sample was recognized using diagnostic criteria to identify the Culicidae species. Characteristics of larval breeding places were studied based on the habitat type (Permanent or temporary), water conditions (Clear or turbid, stagnant or running), vegetation (out, in, underwater vegetation or without vegetation), sunlight exposure (Full or partial sunlight) and so on. Data were analyzed using SPSS. Results: Overall, 5661 third- and fourth- instars larvae of mosquitoes were collected and 5 genera and 14 species were identified: Anopheles hyrcanus, An. maculipennis, An. pseudopictus, An. superpictus, Culex hortensis, Cx. mimiticus, Cx. perexiguus, Cx. pipiens, Cx. pusillus, Cx. theileri, Cx. tritaeniohynchus, Culiseta longiareolata, Och­lerotatus caspius, Uranotaenia unguiculata. Culex pipiens was recognized as predominant species of the family. Among the detected species, Cx. pusillus reported for the first time from Golestan Province. Conclusion: Due to the high species diversity of Culicidae, ecology of medical important species such as Cx. pipiens and Cx. tritaeniorhynchus needs more investigations.

scholarly journals Larval habitats of Anopheles gambiae senso lato (Diptera-Culicidae) in Anger Gute resettlement villages, western Ethiopia

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oljira Kenea ◽  
Mebrate Dufera
Keyword(s):  
Larval Density ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
Habitat Characteristics ◽  
Mosquito Larvae ◽  
Malaria Mosquito ◽  
Aquatic Habitats ◽  
Malaria Surveillance ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Larval Habitats ◽  
Morphological Criteria

Abstract Background: Anger Gute is one of the national malaria surveillance Sentinel Sites in Ethiopia targeted to generate malaria data for the disease control, elimination and eradication. The objective of this work was to obtain information about the habitat characterization of An. gambiae s.l. larvae in western Ethiopian lowlands particularly in Anger Gute resettlement villages. Methods: A longitudinal mosquito larval habitat survey was undertaken every month from January to December 2018. The study covered three rural farming villages namely Tulu Lencha, Warabo and Dalasa Makanisa. All anopheline positive larval habitats present within a 500 m radius of each village and 700 m along the major streams which were located adjacent to the villages were sampled year round to study the mosquito larval density and the habitat characteristics. Larval collections were done from various aquatic habitats in all the villages using the standard dipping method. All III and IV instar anopheline larvae collected were preserved in 70% alcohol. In Wollega University Entomology laboratory, each larva was individually mounted on a microscope slide and identified to An. gambiae s.l. by morphological criteria using identification keys for the Ethiopian mosquitoes. Characteristics of the larval habitats were determined using mean comparison of the mosquito larval density using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results: The mosquito larvae were found in many diverse habitats and were collected most abundantly from rain pool puddles (35.0%) followed by river edge pools (23.5%). During wet season, most of (83.3%) the larval habitats were accessed along roads. Whereas during dry season the habitats were most accessible along streams in the study localities. Significantly higher mean densities of the mosquito larvae were obtained from aquatic habitats that had turbid standing water and in habitats near to human dwellings (<500 m). Conclusions: The malaria mosquito An gambiae s.l. breeds most abundantly in rain pool puddles along footways and roads closer to human habitation during wet season and in stream edges along local streams in dry season in Anger Gute Resettlement villages. These findings suggest that targeting malaria mosquito larval intervention along footways and roads in wet season and on stream edges along local streams in the dry season could result in effective larval control of the malaria vector in the study setting.

scholarly journals Larval habitats and species diversity of mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) in West Azerbaijan Province, Northwestern Iran

BMC Ecology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mojtaba Amini ◽  
Ahmad Ali Hanafi-Bojd ◽  
Ali Ahmad Aghapour ◽  
Ali Reza Chavshin
Keyword(s):  
Species Diversity ◽  
Population Growth ◽  
Water Temperature ◽  
Geographical Area ◽  
Larval Habitat ◽  
Habitat Characteristics ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Larval Habitats ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
West Azerbaijan

Abstract Background The characteristics of a larval habitat is an important factor which affects the breeding pattern and population growth of mosquitoes Information about the larval habitat characteristics and pupal productivity can be utilized for the surveillance of the level of population growth, species diversity, and preferred breeding sites of mosquitoes, which are important aspects of integrated vector control. In the present study, mosquito larvae were collected from 22 natural habitats in five counties of the West Azerbaijan Province in the Northwest of Iran during May–November 2018. Physicochemical characteristics of the habitats were investigated. These included alkalinity, chloride (Cl) content, water temperature (°C), turbidity (NTU), Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) (ppm), Electrical Conductivity (EC) (μS/cm), and acidity (pH). The index of affinity between the collected species was calculated using Fager & McGowan test. Results A total of 2715 specimens were collected and identified. Seven different species belonging to four genera were identified in our study sites. The species included, Culex pipiens Linnaeus 1758, Culex theileri Theobald 1903, Culex mimeticus Noé 1899, Culex modestus Ficalbi 1947, Culiseta longiareolata Macquart 1838, Anopheles maculipennis Meigen 1818complex, and Aedes caspius Pallas 1771. There was a significant difference in chloride content and water temperature preferences among the different species (P < 0.05). Also, there was no significant difference in pH, Alkalinity, Turbidity, TDS, and EC preferences among the different species (P > 0.05). The affinity between the pair of species Cx. mimeticus/Cs. longiareolata was 0.526. There was no affinity between other pairs of species or the affinity was very weak. Conclusions The physicochemical and biological characteristics of mosquito larval habitats play an important role in zoning of areas suitable for breeding and distribution. Surveillance of these characteristics can provide valuable information for entomological monitoring of mosquito vectors and for designing targeted control programs. Also, further studies should be undertaken in a wider geographical area, taking into account the complex characteristics of the physicochemical and ecological factors of the study area and their interaction with various mosquito species.

scholarly journals Correlation between mosquito larval density and their habitat physicochemical characteristics in Mazandaran Province, northern Iran

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. e0005835 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seyed Hassan Nikookar ◽  
Mahmoud Fazeli-Dinan ◽  
Shahyad Azari-Hamidian ◽  
Seyed Nouraddin Mousavinasab ◽  
Mohsen Aarabi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Larval Density ◽  
Physicochemical Characteristics ◽  
Mazandaran Province ◽  
Northern Iran

scholarly journals Fauna and Larval Habitat Characteristics of Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) in Kashan County, Central Iran, 2019

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tahereh Sadat Asgarian ◽  
Seyed Hassan Moosa-Kazemi ◽  
Mohammad Mehdi Sedaghat ◽  
Rouhullah Dehghani ◽  
Mohammad Reza Yaghoobi-Ershadi
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Mosquito Species ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
Larval Habitat ◽  
Habitat Characteristics ◽  
Larval Habitats ◽  
Vector Borne Diseases ◽  
Vector Borne ◽  
Urban And Rural Areas ◽  
First Time

Background: Mosquitoes are responsible for spreading devastating parasites and pathogens causing some important infectious diseases. The present study was done to better understand and update the fauna of Culicidae and to find out the distribution and the type of their larval habitats in Kashan County. Methods: This study was done in four districts of Kashan County (Central, Qamasr, Niasar and Barzok). Mosquito lar-vae were collected from 23 active larval habitats using a standard 350ml capacity mosquito dipper from April to late December 2019. The collected larvae were transferred to containers containing lactophenol, and after two weeks indi-vidually mounted in Berlese's fluid on a microscope slide and identified to species by morphological characters and valid keys. Results: In this study, a total of 9789 larvae were collected from urban and rural areas in Kashan County. The identified genera were Anopheles, Culiseta and Culex. In this study larvae of An. turkhudi, Cx. perexiguus, Cx. mimeticus, Cx. deserticola and Cs. subochrea were collected for the first time from Kashan County. Conclusion: The results of this study indicate the presence and activity of different mosquito species in Kashan County that some of them are vectors of arbovirus and other vector-borne diseases.

Species composition, co-occurrence, association and affinity indices of mosquito larvae (Diptera: Culicidae) in Mazandaran Province, northern Iran

Acta Tropica ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 157 ◽  
pp. 20-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seyed Hassan Nikookar ◽  
Shahyad Azari-Hamidian ◽  
Mahmoud Fazeli-Dinan ◽  
Seyed Nouraddin Mousavi Nasab ◽  
Mohsen Aarabi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Composition ◽  
Mosquito Larvae ◽  
Mazandaran Province ◽  
Northern Iran

scholarly journals Predicting distribution of malaria vector larval habitats in Ethiopia by integrating distributed hydrologic modeling with remotely sensed data

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ai-Ling Jiang ◽  
Ming-Chieh Lee ◽  
Guofa Zhou ◽  
Daibin Zhong ◽  
Dawit Hawaria ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Malaria Vector ◽  
Malaria Control ◽  
Remotely Sensed ◽  
Larval Habitat ◽  
Validation Dataset ◽  
Significant Shift ◽  
Remotely Sensed Data ◽  
Larval Habitats ◽  
Common Land Model ◽  
The Impact

AbstractLarval source management has gained renewed interest as a malaria control strategy in Africa but the widespread and transient nature of larval breeding sites poses a challenge to its implementation. To address this problem, we propose combining an integrated high resolution (50 m) distributed hydrological model and remotely sensed data to simulate potential malaria vector aquatic habitats. The novelty of our approach lies in its consideration of irrigation practices and its ability to resolve complex ponding processes that contribute to potential larval habitats. The simulation was performed for the year of 2018 using ParFlow-Common Land Model (CLM) in a sugarcane plantation in the Oromia region, Ethiopia to examine the effects of rainfall and irrigation. The model was calibrated using field observations of larval habitats to successfully predict ponding at all surveyed locations from the validation dataset. Results show that without irrigation, at least half of the area inside the farms had a 40% probability of potential larval habitat occurrence. With irrigation, the probability increased to 56%. Irrigation dampened the seasonality of the potential larval habitats such that the peak larval habitat occurrence window during the rainy season was extended into the dry season. Furthermore, the stability of the habitats was prolonged, with a significant shift from semi-permanent to permanent habitats. Our study provides a hydrological perspective on the impact of environmental modification on malaria vector ecology, which can potentially inform malaria control strategies through better water management.

scholarly journals The application of drones for mosquito larval habitat identification in rural environments: a practical approach for malaria control?

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle C. Stanton ◽  
Patrick Kalonde ◽  
Kennedy Zembere ◽  
Remy Hoek Spaans ◽  
Christopher M. Jones
Keyword(s):  
Image Analysis ◽  
Malaria Control ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Aquatic Vegetation ◽  
Temporal Trends ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Larval Habitat ◽  
Habitat Characteristics ◽  
Rural Environments

Abstract Background Spatio-temporal trends in mosquito-borne diseases are driven by the locations and seasonality of larval habitat. One method of disease control is to decrease the mosquito population by modifying larval habitat, known as larval source management (LSM). In malaria control, LSM is currently considered impractical in rural areas due to perceived difficulties in identifying target areas. High resolution drone mapping is being considered as a practical solution to address this barrier. In this paper, the authors’ experiences of drone-led larval habitat identification in Malawi were used to assess the feasibility of this approach. Methods Drone mapping and larval surveys were conducted in Kasungu district, Malawi between 2018 and 2020. Water bodies and aquatic vegetation were identified in the imagery using manual methods and geographical object-based image analysis (GeoOBIA) and the performances of the classifications were compared. Further, observations were documented on the practical aspects of capturing drone imagery for informing malaria control including cost, time, computing, and skills requirements. Larval sampling sites were characterized by biotic factors visible in drone imagery and generalized linear mixed models were used to determine their association with larval presence. Results Imagery covering an area of 8.9 km2 across eight sites was captured. Larval habitat characteristics were successfully identified using GeoOBIA on images captured by a standard camera (median accuracy = 98%) with no notable improvement observed after incorporating data from a near-infrared sensor. This approach however required greater processing time and technical skills compared to manual identification. Larval samples captured from 326 sites confirmed that drone-captured characteristics, including aquatic vegetation presence and type, were significantly associated with larval presence. Conclusions This study demonstrates the potential for drone-acquired imagery to support mosquito larval habitat identification in rural, malaria-endemic areas, although technical challenges were identified which may hinder the scale up of this approach. Potential solutions have however been identified, including strengthening linkages with the flourishing drone industry in countries such as Malawi. Further consultations are therefore needed between experts in the fields of drones, image analysis and vector control are needed to develop more detailed guidance on how this technology can be most effectively exploited in malaria control.

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