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Anopheline Larval Habitats Seasonality and Species Distribution: A Prerequisite for Effective Targeted Larval Habitats Control Programmes

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Kweka, Eliningaya J., Zhou, Guofa, Munga, Stephen, Lee, Ming-Chieh, Atieli, Harrysone E., Nyindo, Mramba, Githeko, Andrew K., Yan, Guiyun·2012·PLoS ONE
DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0052084PMC PMC3525533
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Larval control is of paramount importance in the reduction of malaria vector abundance and subsequent disease transmission reduction. Understanding larval habitat succession and its ecology in different land use managements and cropping systems can give an insight for effective larval source management practices. This study investigated larval habitat succession and ecological parameters which influence larval abundance in malaria epidemic prone areas of western Kenya. METHODS AND FINDINGS: A total of 51 aquatic habitats positive for anopheline larvae were surveyed and visited once a week for a period of 85 weeks in succession. Habitats were selected and identified. Mosquito larval species, physico-chemical parameters, habitat size, grass cover, crop cycle and distance to nearest house were recorded. Polymerase chain reaction revealed that An. gambiae s.l was the most dominant vector species comprised of An.gambiae s.s (77.60%) and An.arabiensis (18.34%), the remaining 4.06% had no amplification by polymerase chain reaction. Physico-chemical parameters and habitat size significantly influenced abundance of An. gambiae s.s (P = 0.024) and An. arabiensis (P = 0.002) larvae. Further, larval species abundance was influenced by crop cycle (P≤0.001), grass cover (P≤0.001), while distance to nearest houses significantly influenced the abundance of mosquito species larvae (r = 0.920;P≤0.001). The number of predator species influenced mosquito larval abundance in different habitat types. Crop weeding significantly influenced with the abundance of An.gambiae s.l (P≤0.001) when preceded with fertilizer application. Significantly higher anopheline larval abundance was recorded in habitats in pasture compared to farmland (P = 0.002). When habitat stability and habitat types were considered, hoof print were the most productive followed by disused goldmines. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that implementation of effective larval control programme should be targeted with larval habitats succession information when larval habitats are fewer and manageable. Crop cycles and distance from habitats to household should be considered as effective information in planning larval control.

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  • In separate studies in Burkina Faso and Kenya, An. arabiensis had its highest abundance during the dry season in October about the same time when An. gambiae s.s. had its lowest abundance.

    “In separate studies in Burkina Faso in West Africa [7] and Kenya in East Africa [53], An. arabiensis had its highest abundance during the dry season in October about the same time when An. gambiae s.s. had its lowest abundance.”

    From Sibling species of the major malaria vector Anopheles gambiae display divergent preferences for aquatic breeding sites in southern Nigeria (2024) · cites this paper as [53]

    The Discussion (page not available) reports that in the Kenyan study, at the end of the dry season in October 2010, An. gambiae s.s. larval abundance decreased while An. arabiensis abundance increased. It does not say these were respectively their lowest and highest abundances; the Burkina Faso study is attributed to a separate citation. (LLM, conf=0.86)

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Authors
Kweka, E. J., Zhou, G., Munga, S., Lee, M.-C., Atieli, H. E., Nyindo, M., Githeko, A. K., & Yan, G.
Affiliations
  • Kenya Medical Research Institute (KE)
  • University of California, Irvine (US)
  • Tumaini University (TZ)
Corresponding author
Kweka, Eliningaya J.
ORCID
Venue
PLoS ONE
Publisher
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Published
2012-12-18
Volume
7
Issue
12
Pages
e52084
ISSN
1932-6203 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1371/journal.pone.0052084
PMC
PMC3525533
OpenAlex
W2119690651
Cited by
118
References
1
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 24 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 6 · 2014: 6 · 2013: 4
FWCI
4.95
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • PLoS ONE (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
  • National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (R01AI050243, R01 AI 50243)
  • Fogarty International Center (D43 TW 01505, D43TW001505)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Malaria Research and Control
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Mosquito-borne diseases and control
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Dengue and Mosquito Control Research
Keywords
anopheline mosquitoes, larval habitat, larval source management, malaria vectors, Anopheles gambiae s.s., Anopheles arabiensis, habitat size, grass cover, crop cycle, habitat stability, fertilizer use, predators, Western Kenya
MeSH terms
Animals, Anopheles, Environment, Humans, Kenya, Larva, Malaria, Mosquito Control, Plants, Population Dynamics, Seasons, Ecosystem

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