Composition and abundance of anopheline species according to habitat diversity in Mexico

Abstract

Objective. To determine the abundance and geographic distribution of the main malaria vectors, which are influenced by habitat characteristics and ecological factors that directly impact adult density and the dynamics of malaria transmission in Mexico. Materials and methods. Samples of larvae were collected from 19 states in Mexico. Each larval habitat was characterized in situ determining the following parameters: water depth, turbidity, percentage of vegetation cover, amount of detritus, presence of algae, light intensity, type of vegetation, amount of predators, habitat stability, altitude, and hydrologic type. Results. A total of 21 687 larvae corresponding to 13 anopheline species were obtained from 149 aquatic habitats. The most abundant species were Anopheles pseudopunctipennis (52.91%), An. albimanus (39.14%) and An. franciscanus (5.29%). The multiple logistic regression analysis showed a negative association between An. pseudopunctipennis and water turbidity (ß=-1.342; Wald=6.122; p=0.013) and the amount of detritus (ß=-2.206; Wald=3.642; p=0.050). While in An. albimanus, there was a significant positive association with water turbidity (ß=1.344; Wald=4.256; p=0.039), a negative correlation was found with the altitude (ß=-3.445; Wald=5.407; p =0.020). The highest mosquito species diversity index was found in Chiapas (Fisher's α=1.20) and the lowest diversity in Chihuahua (Fisher's α=0.26). The greatest richness was found in streams (n=11). Conclusions. The two most abundant species were: An. albimanus and An.

Diversidad y distribución de mosquitos (Diptera: Culicidae) en la frontera México-Guatemala

“…De las 6 especies frecuentes, 4 son de importancia médica: A. pseudopunctipennis Theobald y A. albimanus Wiedemann son los principales vectores de Plasmosium sp. responsable de ocasionar la malaria en México (Villarreal-Treviño et al, 2020), A. aegypti, A. albopictus, A. angustivittatus Dyar y Knab, A. scapularis (Rondani), A. taeniorhynchus (Wiedemann) y C. quinquefasciatus tienen importancia por ser vectores de arbovirus como dengue, fiebre amarilla, chikungunya, zika, mayaro, encefalitis equina venezolana, encefalitis equina del oeste y fiebre del valle del Rift (Linthicum et al, 2016;Mitchell, 1995;Wang et al, 2012).…”

Study of mosquito (Culicidae) larvae and characterisation of water bodies in urban and periurban areas

“…However, An. albimanus appears to be a more generalist species in terms of breeding-site preferences (Villarreal-Treviño et al 2020). The species may have a greater tolerance to environmental change and pollution.…”

A Follow-Up to the Geographical Distribution of Anopheles Species in Malaria-Endemic and Non-Endemic Areas of Honduras

“…albimanus and An. pseudopunctipennis were the two most abundant species [ 31 ]. These two species were also found to be the most abundant and widely distributed anophelines along the Pacific coast of Mexico [ 32 ].…”