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  DOI Prefix   10.20431


 

International Journal of Research Studies in Zoology
Volume 3, Issue 3, 2017, Page No: 1-10
doi:dx.doi.org/10.20431/2454-941X.0303001

Overcrowding Effects on Larval Development of Four Mosquito Species Aedes Albopictus, Aedes Aegypti, Culex Quinquefasciatus and Anopheles Stephensi

Ruchi Yadav1, Varun Tyagi2*, Ajay K Sharma1, Sachin N Tikar1, Devanathan Sukumaran1,Vijay Veer2

1Vector Management Division, Defence Research and Development Establishment (DRDE), Jhansi Road, Gwalior M. P., India.
2Defence Research Laboratory, Tezpur, Assam, India.

Citation :Varun Tyagi, Overcrowding Effects on Larval Development of Four Mosquito Species Aedes Albopictus, Aedes Aegypti, Culex Quinquefasciatus and Anopheles Stephensi International Journal of Research Studies in Zoology 2017,3(3) : 1-10.

Abstract

Mosquitoes are recognized as medically important vectors, responsible for various disease transmissions. These mosquito species are vastly abundant in artificial containers and strongly adapted to urban environment. Forest clearing, irrigation development and human resettlement results in large-scale increase of artificial containers, and provides various types of habitat for mosquito breeding. To understand how intra-specific competition affects larval growth we studied survivorship, development time and adult dry weight of four mosquito species Ae, albopictus, Ae. aegypti, Cx. quinquefasciatus and An. stephensi provided controlled food and space, under laboratory conditions. Larvae were reared at 5 different densities - 20, 50, 100, 150 and 200 larvae / 200 ml water with constant water volume; food amount and under controlled temperature and photoperiod. Larval survivorship, development time and adult dry weight were observed as the parameters of larval development for each density and data were subjected to one-way ANOVA. The analysis showed that larval density was strongly associated with increased development time and decreased survival and dry weight of adult mosquitoes. Larval growth of Cx quinquefasciatus and An. stephensi larvae especially those from higher density, was significantly affected as compared to Aedes larvae. It was also observed that Cx quinquefasciatus and An. stephensi both are comparatively sensitive to crowding in small containers. Male-biased sex proportion at higher densities was also observed for each mosquito species. The findings are important in establishing the relationship between models of mosquito population regulation and epidemiological models of disease transmission.


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