Diversity, distribution and relative abundance of the mosquito fauna (Diptera: Culicidae) of Malakand and Dir Lower, Pakistan

Abstract

The present study was conducted to evaluate the diversity, distribution (C) and relative abundance (RA) of the mosquito fauna (Diptera: Culicidae) of Malakand and Dir Lower, Pakistan. Collection of specimens (n = 1087) was made during September 2018 to July 2019 at six different habitats including freshwater bodies, rice fields, animal sheds, indoors, drains and sewage waters. Specimens were collected through light traps, pyrethrum spray, aspirators and nets and subsequently killed, preserved and then arranged in entomological boxes for identification. Three genera were identified namely Culex, Anopheles and Aedes. A total of fourteen species were identified namely: Cx. quinquefasciatus (Say, 1823), An. stephensi (Liston, 1901), Cx. tritaeniorhynchus (Giles, 1901), Ae. vittatus (Bigot, 1861), An. maculatus (Theobald, 1901), An. fluviatilis (James, 1902), Cx. vishnui (Theobald, 1901), Ae. aegypti (Linnaeus, 1762) An. subpictus (Grassi, 1899), An. dthali (Patton, 1905), An. culicifascies (Giles, 1901), An. pallidus (Theobald, 1901), Ae. albopictus (Skuse, 1894) and An. annularis (van der Wulp, 1884). Cx. quinquefasciatus was found constantly distributed in the study area with RA = 16.5% and C = 100%. An. annularis was found as a satellite species, sporadically distributed in the study area having RA = 0.9% and C = 17%. Diversity indices of mosquitoes in the studied habitats were found as, Shannon-Wiener Index (2.415), Simpson Index (9.919), Fisher’s Index (2.269) and Margalef’s Index (1.859). A statistically significant difference was recorded in mosquito diversity in the six habitats (Kruskal-Wallis, chi-squared, H = 17.5, df = 5, P = 0.003 at α = 0.05). The present study encompasses mosquito fauna of Malakand, Pakistan with respect to diversity, relative abundance and distribution in diverse habitats and all seasons of the year. This will assist scientists working in various fields related with epidemiology, medical and veterinary entomology, ecology and allied areas of biological sciences.

Relative Abundance, Distribution, and Diversity of Mosquitoes in District Peshawar, Charsadda, and Swabi

“…Mosquitoes are important disease vectors, and their diversity and distribution determine the course of disease transmission and the ecological status of the native environment. As discussed above, the taxonomic identification revealed the presence of four species belonging to three genera: The studies were conducted by Ali and Rasheed [28]; Attaullah et al [29]; Manzoor et al [11]; and Khan et al [30]. As for Aedes albopictus, previous studies such as [31] has shown its presence in Peshawar, though in other regions of the city as compared to the ones studied in the current study.…”

“…Table 2), Aedes aegypti was found to be a frequent specie in the study sites considered in this research. Existing published literature show that the specie is widely distributed in Peshawar, Charsadda, Lahore, and Swat (clumped distribution mainly spread by travel and heterogeneous environment), while infrequently distributed in Dir Lower and Malakand owing to the fact that the latter districts have different climatic and ecological conditions [29][30][31][32]. Lastly, Armigeres subalbatus' presence was only restricted to district Charsadda as shown above (vid.…”

The Evaluation of the Aedes Albopictus Entomological Index Based on the Topography to Compute the Essential Requirements for Dengue Transmission Surveillance in Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand

“…The Aedes mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti or Aedes albopictus) transmit dengue fever and other vector-borne infections 1,2 . The number of mosquitoes in an area influences the intensity of a dengue epidemic, and the mosquito population is influenced by several environmental variables [4][5][6] , such as the movement of humans, their location, and climatic conditions [7][8][9] . The number of people, houses, and mosquitoes has increased due to urbanization.…”