Assessment of mosquito larval habitats, species abundance and diversity in Azare, Katagum Local Government Area, Bauchi State, Nigeria

Aliyu Abdulhamid Omar; Auwal Alhassan Barde; Sam Mao Panda; Abdulrasheed  Dalhatu; Shehu Abubakar  Kafi; Umar  Aliyu

doi:10.54117/gjpas.v1i2.14

Authors

Aliyu Abdulhamid Omar Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Bauchi State University, Gadau, Bauchi State
Auwal Alhassan Barde Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, Nigeria.
Sam Mao Panda Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, Nigeria.
Abdulrasheed Dalhatu Department of Biology, School of Secondary Education (Science), Aminu Saleh College of Education, Azare, Bauchi State
Shehu Abubakar Kafi Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Bauchi State University, Gadau, Bauchi State
Umar Aliyu Department of Biological Sciences, Bauchi State University, Gadau, Nigeria

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54117/gjpas.v1i2.14

Keywords:

Mosquito, Larval, Habitats, Species Abundance, Diversity, Azare, Breeding Index, Transmission, Species

Abstract

The study investigated the abundance and diversity of mosquito species larvae in different larval breeding habitats of Azare, Katagum L.G.A., Bauchi State, Nigeria. The selected habitats were surveyed weekly between August and October, 2021 across ten communities. A total of 2,320 mosquito larvae of different instars were collected and reared to adults in which 1,624 successfully emerged as adults comprising of three genera namely: Anopheles 464 (20%), Culex 928 (40.00%) and Aedes 232 (10%). A total of four (4) species were identified; two (2) of which were Anopheles spp. (An. gambiae and An. arabiensis), one (1) Culex spp. (Cx. quinquefasciatus), one (1) Aedes spp. (Ae. aegypti); while the numbers of unidentified individuals for Culex and Aedes genera down to species level were one (1) species for each respectively. The results of this study found high species abundance and relatively low diversity but a high larval breeding index. There was no significant difference (p > 0.05) in larval abundance among the three groups. Most interestingly, the study found out that mosquitoes’ larvae co-habit together in relation to the breeding habitats sampled across the study area. The results of this study signify high transmission risk of mosquitoes-borne diseases in the area. Thus, control interventions, to reduce malaria burdens and other arboviruses, in the city should be broadened to target the breeding sites of mosquitoes by implementing a larviciding strategy especially during the wet season is presumably the most cost-effective strategy to consider.

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