ABSTRACT
Mosquito larvae are found in habitats possessing a wide range of physical and chemical characteristics.Their ecology is a prerequisite for determining the larval abundance and species assemblage in mosquito control program. This study therefore assesses the physico-chemical characteristics of mosquito breeding sites in selected pools in Edo State.
Mosquito larva and water samples were collected monthly from April 2017 to March 2018 from designated sites; tyres, tyre track, puddle, container and gutter: using standard methods, thereafter analyzed in the laboratory with the aid of standard procedures. The physic-chemical parameters determined were pH, colour, turbidity, total dissolved solids, total suspended solids, total solids, electrical conductivity, chloride, alkalinity, hardness, phosphate, sulphate, nitrate, dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand, calcium and magnesium.
The physical and chemical parameters of the sites did not differ significantly (p> 0.05) except for colour, turbidity, suspended solids, total solids, hardness and calcium which were significant (p< 0.05). A total of 417 larvae belonging to 3 genera viz; Aedes, Anopheles and Culex were recorded. Aedesaegypti was the most abundant with 71.1%, followed by Culexquinquefasciatus (20.3%) while Anopheles gambiae (8.6%) was the least in all studied local government areas. Tyre tracks harboured more Anopheles gambiae while puddles and used tyresharboured more Aedesaegypti and Culexquinquefasciatus was more in used tyres, followed by puddle, containers and gutters. Overall diversity showed that Angambiae was the most rich and diverse species while Cxquinquefaciatus was the most even and least diverse while Aedesaegypti was the least even species. Etsako east LGA had highest species richness while Uhunmwonde was the least while the locality with the highest species richness was Ikhueniro followed by Ugonoba, Idunmwungha, Evboesi, Agenebode with Iviukwe the least. Epidemiologically, encountered mosquito species are potential vectors of malaria, yellow fever and filariasis and shows that the human populations around these locations are exposed to health risk. Thus, it is paramount that public enlightenment is carried out especially to inform the inhabitants in the study locations about the vector and its role in disease transmission.
