Haya: The Saudi Journal of Life Sciences (SJLS)
Volume-3 | Issue-06 | 465-468
Original Research Article
Influence of Antagonistic Crustaceans on Population of Aedes aegypti Larvae under Simulated Conditions
Ankita Thakur, Devinder Kaur Kocher
Published : June 10, 2018
Abstract
Dengue and chikungunya are two mosquito-borne viral ailments transmitted
by the same species of mosquito, Aedes aegypti and these ailments are of great public
health concern in country like India. Thus, the present study was aimed to check the
influence of antagonistic crustaceans on population of Aedes mosquitoes. Based on
our laboratory experiments, the best ratio of antagonistic crustaceans (Cyclopoid
copepod, Mesocyclops aspericornis and cladoceran, Daphnia magna) was chosen
against Aedes aegypti larvae to test the influence of these crustaceans under simulated
conditions. During the study it was observed that overall time taken for the larvae to
convert into adult was 14.82±2.65 ranging from 14.0-21.0 days i.e. 4 days longer than
the control sets. L1 larval stage was more prone to mortality i.e. 42.35±0.69 than other
larval stages. Total adult emergence was significantly reduced i.e. 52.30±1.57
(31.65±0.69 males and 20.65±0.88 females). Significant reduction in body size of both
male and female was observed i.e. 3.79±0.16 mm (control 4.44±0.07 mm) and female
size significantly reduced to 4.17±0.15 mm when compared with control sets i.e.
5.48±0.08 mm. Life span of males was reduced from 15.35±1.20 to 9.33±0.33 days
and in case of females longevity was reduced from 22.00±1.15 to 11.67±0.66 days.