Species Composition and Distribution of Anopheles Mosquito Vectors in Kontagora, Niger State, Nigeria (Published)
The endemicity of malaria in any locality in determine by indigenous Anopheles species composition, distribution as well as Plasmodium infectivity. This research was conducted to determine the species composition and distribution of Anopheles mosquito vectors in Kontagora, Niger State Nigeria. Adult mosquitoes were collected from five (5) sampling sites widely located in Kwangwara, Tudun wada, Dadin kowa, Sabon gari and Usubu areas of Kontagora metropolis. Collected mosquitoes were taken and examined in the laboratory, sorted into Anopheles and identified into species using standard taxonomic keys and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) techniques respectively. Data generated were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) software version 20.3 and excel package. Anopheles species composition was expressed as the percentage of total Anopheles mosquitoes collected. Chi-square test was used to compare the results from the five sampling locations. The results of the study revealed six (6) Anopheles species; namely An. gambiae, An. funestus, An. squamosus, An. coustani, An. nili and An. maculipalpis, whose distribution varied significantly (p < 0.05) between sampling locations with An. gambiae predominating. Findings therefore revealed the preponderance of Anopheles gambiae species, indicating high malaria transmission potentials in the study area. This underscores the importance of generating intensive spatio-temporal information on the risk factors associated with malaria transmission on a local scale.
Keywords: Composition, Distribution, Species, anopheles, mosquito vectors
Distribution, Abundance and Age Cohorts of Phorcus Turbinatus (Gastropoda) In Eastern Libya’s Mediterranean Sea (Published)
Distribution of Phorcus turbinatus along the littoral zones of Al-Haneah and Susah, eastern Libya’s Mediterranean Sea, at day, at low tide, was studied using belt transects with quadrates. P. turbinatus in both sites inhabited only the lower rocky littoral, many times in aggregates in tidal pools. P. turbinatus was absent in the mid and the upper rocky littoral, all the sandy shores, and the sublittoral. The abundance was maximum just above the shoreline (209 and 207 individuals/m2 in both sites), and decreased on moving up the littoral. Factors controlling the distribution were discussed. P. turbinatus showed no size gradient on moving upwards from the shoreline to the upper littoral. Frequency distribution of “height of shell from base to the apex” (HBA) indicated that P. turbinatus populations of both study sites exist in three age cohorts. Mean HBA of cohort 1 and 2 in Al-Haneah was 7 and 15mm, mean HBA of cohort 3 could not be determined; in Susah, HBA of cohorts 1 and 2 were 6 and 11.8mm.
Keywords: Abundance, Distribution, Monodonta turbinata, Phorcus turbinatus, age cohort.