title: Environmental characteristics of anopheline mosquito larval habitats in a malaria endemic area in Iran.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the effects of environmental parameters of larval habitats on distribution and abundance of anopheline mosquitoes in Rudan county of Iran.
  
  
  METHODS
  This cross-sectional study was conducted during the mosquito breeding season from February 2010 to October 2011. The anopheline larvae were collected using the standard dipping method. The specimens were identified using a morphological-based key. Simultaneously with larval collection, environmental parameters of the larval habitats including water current and turbidity, sunlight situation, and substrate type of habitats were recorded. Water samples were taken from breeding sites during larval collection. Before collection of samples, the water temperature was measured. The water samples were analysed for turbidity, conductivity, total alkalinity, total dissolved solid, pH and ions including chloride, sulphate, calcium, and magnesium. Statistical correlation analysis and ANOVA test were used to analyze the association between environmental parameters and larval mosquito abundance.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In total 2 973 larvae of the genus Anopheles were collected from 25 larval habitats and identified using morphological characters. They comprised of six species: An. dthali (53.21%), An. stephensi (24.22%), An. culicifacies (14.06%), An. superpictus (4.07%), An. turkhudi (3.30%), and An. apoci (1.14%). The most abundant species was An. dthali which were collected from all of the study areas. Larvae of two malaria vectors, An. dthali and An. stephensi, co-existed and collected in a wide range of habitats with different physico-chemical parameters. The most common larval habitats were man-made sites such as sand mining pools with clean and still water. The anopheline mosquitoes also preferred permanent habitats in sunlight with sandy substrates. The results indicated that there was a significant relationship between mean physico-chemical parameters such as water temperature, conductivity, total alkalinity, sulphate, chloride, and mosquito distribution and abundance.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of this study showed a correlation between certain environmental parameters and mosquito larvae abundance, and these parameters should be considered in planning and implementing larval control programs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Entomology and Vector Control, School of Public Health, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, Iran. mussa.soleimani@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Moussa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Soleimani-Ahmadi
authors.forename: Hassan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Vatandoost
authors.forename: Ahmad-Ali
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Hanafi-Bojd
authors.forename: Mehdi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zare
authors.forename: Reza
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Safari
authors.forename: Abdolrasul
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mojahedi
authors.forename: Fatemeh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Poorahmad-Garbandi
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D000852:Anopheles / Q000502:physiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D017753:Ecosystem; D019353:Endemic Diseases; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D062070:Hydrology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007477:Ions / Q000032:analysis; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D007814:Larva / Q000502:physiology; D008029:Lighting / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008288:Malaria / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013048:Specimen Handling
chemical_list: D007477:Ions