Factors Influencing Differential Larval Habitat Productivity of Anopheles Gambiae Complex Mosquitoes in a Western Kenyan Village (Report‪)‬

INTRODUCTION Larvae of Afro-tropical malaria vectors exist in a variety of aquatic habitats but prefer small, confined, soil-lined puddles (1-6). While some of these habitats are naturally derived, others are the result of human activities. Regardless of the mode of formation, each of these habitat types has unique ecological properties that are relevant to the fate of anti-larval biological control strategies targeted at reducing juvenile mosquito populations they support. Such properties are likely to make certain habitats more supportive to biological insect life than others. For example, ecologists have long recognized that habitat size has important inherent consequences on the organization, size and persistence of resident biological communities (7). Smaller habitats are likely to contain fewer mosquito species, support smaller populations, and exhibit higher rates of extinction compared to larger habitats. Larvae are known to feed on bacteria and algae within surface microlayers (8,9). Optimal amounts of these microbial fauna could influence larval productivity (10-12). Consequently, a thorough understanding and appreciation of larval population dynamics requires a thorough appreciation of these factors and how they affect larval abundance.