Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-sxzjt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-23T13:31:42.463Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The breeding requirements of three members of the Anopheles gambiae Giles complex (Diptera: Culicidae) in the endemic malaria area of Natal, South Africa

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

David le Sueur
Affiliation:
Research Institute for Diseases in a Tropical Environment of the South African Medical Research Council, P.O. Box 17120, Congella, South Africa and Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Natal, P.O. Box 375, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
Brian L. Sharp
Affiliation:
Research Institute for Diseases in a Tropical Environment of the South African Medical Research Council, P.O. Box 17120, Congella, South Africa

Abstract

The breeding sites used by three species of the Anopheles gambiae Giles complex were investigated in northern Natal, South Africa. Those used by the two freshwater species, A. arabiensis Patton and A. quadriannulatus (Theobald) were similar, immature stages of both being collected from the same pool at five out of seven localities from which A. arabiensis was recorded. A. quadriannulatus was the most extensively distributed species of the complex and was found in association with A. arabiensis at only five of 49 localities. The difficulty in locating the breeding sites of A. arabiensis is a product of their low density, presumably as a result of the intra-domiciliary, residual insecticide spray programme. A. merus Dönitz larvae and pupae were recorded only in water with a salinity greater than 5 p.p.t. The pH, dissolved oxygen, pool size, turbidity, shade and association with vegetation of water bodies containing A. gambiae s.l. were also recorded and showed no difference between the three species. The importance of distinguishing between winter and summer breeding sites is discussed, as well as the need for entomological consultation prior to agricultural development in endemic malarious areas.

Type
Original Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1988

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bruton, M. N. (1980). Introduction.—pp. xvii-xix in Bruton, M. N. & Cooper, K. H. (Eds). The ecology of Maputaland.—560 pp. Cape Town, Rhodes Univ. & Natal Brch Wildlife Soc. Sth. Africa.Google Scholar
Coluzzi, M. (1968). Cromosomi politenici delle cellule nutrici ovariche nel complesso gambiae del genere Anopheles.—Parassitologia 10, 179183.Google Scholar
De Meillon, B. (1934). Observations on Anopheles funestus and Anopheles gambiae in the Transvaal.—Publs S. Afr. Inst. med. Res. no. 32. 195248.Google Scholar
De Meillon, B. (1938). A note on Anopheles gambiae Giles and Anopheles coustani var. tenebrosus Dönitz from southern Africa.—S. Afr. med. J. 12, 648650.Google Scholar
Gillies, M. T. & De Meillon, B. (1968). The Anophelinae of Africa south of the Sahara (Ethiopian zoogeographical region).—Publs S. Afr. Inst. med. Res. no. 54, 343 pp.Google Scholar
Gillies, M. T. & Coetzee, M. (1987). A supplement to the Anophelinae of Africa south of the Sahara.—Publs S. Afr. Inst. med. Res. no. 55, 143 pp.Google Scholar
Hancock, G. L. R. (1934). The mosquitoes of Namanve Swamp, Uganda.—J. Anim. Ecol. 3, 204221.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heeg, J. & Breen, C. M. (1982). Man and the Pongola floodplain.—117 pp. (S. Afr. Natn. Scient. Prog. Rep. no. 56).Google Scholar
Hunt, R. H. (1973). A cytological technique for the study of Anopheles gambiae complex.—Parassitologia 15, 137139.Google Scholar
Hunt, R. H. & Coetzee, M. (1986). Field sampling of Anopheles mosquitos for correlated cytogenetic, electrophoretic and morphological studies.—Bull. Wld Hlth Org. 64, 897900.Google ScholarPubMed
Iyengar, M. O. T. (1930). Dissolved oxygen in relation to Anopheles breeding.—Ind. J. med. Res. 17, 11711188.Google Scholar
Jepson, W. F., Moutia, A. & Courtois, C. (1947). The malaria problem in Mauritius: the bionomics of Mauritian anophelines.—Bull. ent. Res. 38, 177208.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mahon, R. J., Green, C. A. & Hunt, R. H. (1976). Diagnostic allozymes for routine identification of adults of the Anopheles gambiae complex (Diptera, Culicidae).—Bull. ent. Res. 66, 2531.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maud, R. R. (1980). The climate and geology of Maputaland.—pp. 1–7 in Bruton, M. N. & Cooper, K. H. (Eds). The ecology of Maputaland.—560 pp. Cape Town, Rhodes Univ. & Natal Brch Wildlife Soc. Sth. Africa.Google Scholar
Miles, S. J. (1978). Enzyme variation in the Anopheles gambiae Giles group of species (Diptera:Culicidae).—Bull. ent. Res. 68, 8596.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miles, S. J. (1979). A biochemical key to adult members of the Anopheles gambiae group of species (Diptera: Culicidae).—J. med. Entomol. 15, 297299.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mosha, F. W. & Mutero, C. M. (1982). The influence of salinity on larval development and population dynamics of Anopheles merus Dönitz (Diptera: Culicidae).—Bull. ent. Res. 72, 119128.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Muirhead Thomson, R. C. (1942). Studies on the behaviour of Anopheles minimus. Part VII. Further studies on the composition of the water in breeding places and the influence of organic pollution.—J. Malar. Inst. India 4, 595610.Google Scholar
Paterson, H. E., Paterson, S. J. & van Eeden, G. J. (1963). A new member of the Anopheles gambiae complex. A preliminary report.—Med. Proc. 9, 414417.Google Scholar
Pomeroy, A. W. J. (1931). A report on the mosquito and tsetse problem at Takoradi, 1930–31.—Rep. med. sanit. Dep. Gold Cst 1930-31, 101118.Google Scholar
Reiter, P. (1978). The influence of dissolved oxygen content on the survival of submerged mosquito larvae.—Mosquito News 38, 334337.Google Scholar
Service, M. W. (1970). Ecological notes on species A and B of the Anopheles gambiae complex in the Kisumu area of Kenya.—Bull. ent. Res. 60, 105108.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Service, M. W. (1973). Mortalities of the larvae of the Anopheles gambiae Giles complex and detection of predators by the precipitin test.—Bull. ent. Res. 62, 359369.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Service, M. W. (1977). Mortalities of the immature stages of species B of the Anopheles gambiae complex in Kenya: comparison between rice fields and temporary pools, identification of predators, and effects of insecticidal spraying.—J. med. Entomol. 13, 535545.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sharp, B. L., Quicke, F. C. & Jansen, E. J. (1984). Aspects of the behaviour of five anopheline species in the endemic malaria area of Natal.—J. ent. Soc. sth. Afr. 47, 251258.Google Scholar
Sharp, B. L., Ngxongo, S., Botha, M.J., Ridl, F. C. & LE Sueur, D. (1988). An analysis of 10 years of retrospective malaria data from the KwaZulu areas of Natal.—S. Afr. J. Sci. 84, 102106.Google Scholar
Stuckenberg, B. R. (1969). Effective temperature as an ecological factor in southern Africa.—Zool. Afr. 4 (2), 145197.Google Scholar
Surtees, G., Simpson, D. I. H., Bowen, E. T. W. & Grainger, W. E. (1970). Ricefield development and arbovirus epidemiology, Kano plain, Kenya.—Trans. R. Soc. trop. Med. Hyg. 64, 511518.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
White, G. B. (1973). Comparative studies on sibling species of the Anopheles gambiae Giles complex (Dipt., Culicidae). III. The distribution, ecology, behaviour and vectorial importance of species D in Bwamba County, Uganda, with an analysis of biological, ecological, morphological and cytogenetical relationships of Ugandan species D.Bull. ent. Res. 63, 6597.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
White, G. B. (1974). Anopheles gambiae complex and disease transmission in Africa.—Trans. R. Soc. trop. Med. Hyg. 68, 278301.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
White, G. B. & Rosen, P. (1973). Comparative studies on sibling species of the Anopheles gambiae Giles complex (Dipt., Culicidae). II. Ecology of species A and B in savanna around Kaduna, Nigeria, during transition from wet to dry season.—Bull. ent. Res. 62, 613625.CrossRefGoogle Scholar