Mosquito diversity across altitudinal and land-use gradients in tropical Indonesia
Article Sidebar
Abstract Views: 210
File Views: 158
Main Article Content
Abstract
Abstract. Jasmi RA, Hidayat E, Kurnia MF. 2026. Mosquito diversity across altitudinal and land-use gradients in tropical Indonesia. Biodiversitas 27 (2): d270227. https://doi.org/10.13057/biodiv/d270227. Altitudinal variation is an important environmental factor influencing the distribution and dynamics of vector insect communities in tropical regions. However, information on how elevational gradients affect mosquito distribution and diversity in Banten Province remains limited. This study aimed to examine the association between elevation and key environmental factors in shaping mosquito diversity. Sampling was conducted at 13 sites (n = 13) across an elevational range of 12-815 masl. Mosquitoes were collected between 18:00 and 06:00 WIB (UTC+07:00). Environmental parameters recorded included air temperature, relative humidity, land-use category, vegetation, and the availability of aquatic habitats. Relationships between elevation, temperature, and humidity with abundance were analyzed using Spearman correlation. Differences in diversity among elevational zones were tested using the Kruskal-Wallis test, followed by Dunn's post hoc test. A total of 3,528 mosquitoes representing nine species and five genera were collected. Total mosquito abundance declined sharply with increasing elevation and was strongly negatively correlated with elevation (r = -0.93, p<0.001) but positively correlated with air temperature (r = 0.77, p = 0.02). Culex quinquefasciatus (79.13%) and Culex vishnui (19.27%) dominated lowland areas, whereas Armigeres subalbatus showed increased abundance at higher elevations. Species richness remained relatively stable along the elevational gradient (2-4 species), indicating that elevation primarily influenced species dominance and abundance distribution rather than the number of species present. These findings suggest that elevation is strongly associated with mosquito diversity. Based on vector abundance and composition, potential transmission risk may be higher in lowland areas; however, pathogen prevalence was not assessed in this study. Because the study was observational, with possible collinearity between elevation and temperature and limited high-elevation replication, causal interpretations should be made cautiously.
Article Details
Issue
Section
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
References
Abdulloh A, Chaiphongpachara T, Laojun S. 2024. Assessing the climatic impacts on the abundance of Mansonia annulifera, Ma. indiana, and Ma. uniformis (Diptera: Culicidae) in Central Thailand. Biodiversitas 25 (12): 4736-4744. https://doi.org/10.13057/biodiv/d251209.
Abraham PR, Ramalingam B, Mohapatra P, Krishnamoorthy K, Hoti SL, Kumar A. 2024. Detection of Wuchereria bancrofti infection in mosquitoes in areas co-endemic with Brugia malayi in Balasore district, Odisha, India. Sci Rep 14: 16780. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-67188-2.
Afrane YA, Lawson BW, Brenya R, Kruppa T, Yan G. 2012. The ecology of mosquitoes in an irrigated vegetable farm in Kumasi, Ghana: Abundance, productivity, and survivorship. Parasit Vectors 5: 233. https://doi.org/10.1186/1756-3305-5-233.
Amini M, Hanafi-Bojd AA, Aghapour AA, Chavshin AR. 2020. Larval habitats and species diversity of mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) in West Azerbaijan Province, Northwestern Iran. BMC Ecol 20: 60. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12898-020-00328-0.
Asgarian TS, Moosa-Kazemi SH, Sedaghat MM. 2021. Impact of meteorological parameters on mosquito population abundance and distribution in a former malaria endemic area, Central Iran. Heliyon 7 (12): e08477. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e08477.
Balasubramanian R, Nadh VA, Sahina S. 2021. Ecology of breeding habitats of mosquito population and screening for the virus of Japanese encephalitis and West Nile in the coastal area of Kerala, India. J Vector Borne Dis 58 (3): 232-239. https://doi.org/10.4103/0972-9062.318307.
Chaiphongpachara T, Laojun S. 2024. Seasonal species composition, abundance, and public health importance of mosquito vectors (Diptera: Culicidae) in Huai Tha Khoei Reservoir, Ratchaburi, Thailand. Biodiversitas 25 (3): 1264-1275. https://doi.org/10.13057/biodiv/d250343.
Chaves LF, Imanishi N, Hoshi T. 2015. Population dynamics of Armigeres subalbatus (Diptera: Culicidae) across a temperate altitudinal gradient. Bull Entomol Res 105 (5): 589-597. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007485315000474.
da Silva AC, Scalize PS. 2023. Environmental variables related to Aedes aegypti breeding spots and the occurrence of arbovirus diseases. Sustainability 15 (10): 1-21. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15108148.
Dalilah D, Anwar C, Syafruddin D, Saleh I, Pahlepi RI. 2024. Biodiversity, ecology, and bionomic aspects of Anopheles mosquitoes during the dry season in Southern Sumatra, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 25 (4): 1644-1654. https://doi.org/10.13057/biodiv/d250434.
Dillon ME, Frazier MR, Dudley R. 2006. Into thin air: Physiology and evolution of alpine insects. Integr Comp Biol 46 (1): 49-61. https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/icj007.
Dunn OJ. 1964. Multiple comparisons using rank sums. Technometrics 6 (3): 241-252. https://doi.org/10.2307/1266041.
Fernández-Duque S, Vicente-Serrano SM, Maillard O, Domínguez-Castro F, Peña-Angulo D, Noguera I, Azorin-Molina C, El Kenawy A. 2023. Long-term observed changes of air temperature, relative humidity, and vapour pressure deficit in Bolivia, 1950-2019. Intl J Climatol 43 (14): 6484-6504. https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.8226.
Gass RF, Deesin T, Surathin K, Vutikes S, Sucharit S, Harinasuta C. 1983. Studies on oviposition characteristics of Mansonia (Mansonioides) mosquitoes in Southern Thailand. Ann Trop Med Parasitol 77 (6): 605-614. https://doi.org/10.1080/00034983.1983.11811760.
Gould DJ, Barnett HC, Suyemoto W. 1962. Transmission of Japanese encephalitis virus by Culex gelidus Theobald. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 56: 429-435. https://doi.org/10.1016/0035-9203(62)90018-4.
Hasegawa M, Tuno N, Yen NT, Nam VS, Takagi M. 2008. Influence of the distribution of host species on adult abundance of Japanese encephalitis vectors Culex vishnui subgroup and Culex gelidus in a rice-cultivating village in northern Vietnam. Am J Trop Med Hyg 78 (1): 159-168. https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.2008.78.159.
Ikhsan M, Hadi UK, Soviana S. 2020. Diversity and distribution of bromeliad plants as breeding habitats for mosquito larvae (Diptera: Culicidae) in Bogor, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 21 (8): 3494-3498. https://doi.org/10.13057/biodiv/d210810.
Izquierdo-Suzán M, Zavala-Guerrero PB, Mendoza H, Salomao RP, Vázquez-Pichardo M, Thaden JJV, Medellín RA. 2024. Mosquito (Diptera: Culicidae) diversity and arbovirus detection across an urban and agricultural landscape. Acta Trop 257: 107321. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actatropica.2024.107321.
Kermelita D, Hadi UK, Soviana S, Tiuria R, Supriyono S. 2024. Species diversity of mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae), larval habitat characteristics, and potential as vectors for lymphatic filariasis in Central Bengkulu Regency, Indonesia. Vet World 17 (9): 2115-2123. https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2024.2115-2123.
Krambrich J, Nguyen-Tien T, Pham-Thanh L, Dang‑Xuan S, Andersson E, Höller P, Vu DT, Tran SH, Vu LT, Akaberi D, Ling J, Pettersson JHO, Hesson JC, Lindahl JF, Lundkvist A. 2024. Study on the temporal and spatial distribution of Culex mosquitoes in Hanoi, Vietnam. Sci Rep 14: 16573. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-67438-3.
Lapang PM, Ombugadu A, Ishaya M, Mafuyai MJ, Njila HL, Nkup CD, Mwansat GS. 2019. Abundance and diversity of mosquito species larvae in Shendam LGA, Plateau State, North-Central Nigeria: A panacea for vector control strategy. J Zool Res 3 (3): 25-33. https://doi.org/10.22259/2637-5575.0303004.
Listiono H, Damiri N, Kamaluddin T, Irsan C. 2024. Diversity of disease-carrying mosquito vectors in potential areas of dengue fever in Palembang City, South Sumatra, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 25 (2): 474-481. https://doi.org/10.13057/biodiv/d250205.
Loaiza JR, Dutari LC, Rovira JR, Sanjur OI, Laporta GZ, Pecor J, Foley DH, Eastwood G, Kramer LD, Radtke M, Pongsiri M. 2017. Disturbance and mosquito diversity in the lowland tropical rainforest of central Panama. Sci Rep 7: 7248. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-07476-2.
Magurran AE. 2004. Measuring Biological Diversity. Blackwell Publishing, Oxford.
Minwuyelet A, Yewhalaw D, Sciarretta A, Atenafu G. 2025. Evaluating insecticide susceptibility in major African malaria vectors: A meta-analysis and systematic review. Front Malaria 3: 1478249. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmala.2025.1478249.
Ndoen E, Wild C, Dale P, Sipe N, Dale M. 2010. Relationships between anopheline mosquitoes and topography in West Timor and Java, Indonesia. Malaria J 9: 242. https://doi.org/10.1186/1475-2875-9-242.
Nirwan M, Hadi UK, Soviana S, Satrija F, Setiyaningsih S. 2022. Diversity, domination, and behavior of mosquitoes in the filariasis endemic area of Bogor District, West Java, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 23 (4): 2093-2100. https://doi.org/10.13057/biodiv/d230444.
Ohba S, Soai NV, Anh DTV, Nguyen YT, Takagi M. 2015. Study of mosquito fauna in rice ecosystems around Hanoi, Northern Vietnam. Acta Trop 142: 89-95. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actatropica.2014.11.002.
Pimnon S, Bhumiratana A, Intarapuk A, Ritthison W. 2024. Effect of expanding farmlands with domestication of animals in the vicinity of disturbed swamps and built-up farmland ponds on population dispersion and decline of locally adapted Mansonia vectors (Diptera: Culicidae). Vet World 17 (3): 564-576. https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2024.564-576.
Ramesh D, Muniaraj M, Samuel PP, Thenmozhi V, Venkatesh A, Nagaraj J, Tyagi BK. 2015. Seasonal abundance and role of predominant Japanese encephalitis vectors Culex tritaeniorhynchus and Cx. gelidus Theobald in Cuddalore district, Tamil Nadu. Indian J Med Res 142 (1): 23-29. https://doi.org/10.4103/0971-5916.176607.
Rattanarithikul R, Harbach RE, Harrison BA, Panthusiri P, Jones JW, Coleman RE. 2005. Illustrated keys to the mosquitoes of Thailand II. Genera Culex and Lutzia. Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health 36 (2): 1-97.
Rattanarithikul R, Harrison BA, Panthusiri P, Peyton EL, Coleman RE. 2006. Illustrated keys to the mosquitoes of Thailand III. Genera Aedeomyia, Ficalbia, Mimomyia, Hodgesia, Coquillettidia, Mansonia, and Uranotaenia. Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health 37 (1): 1-85.
Rattanarithikul R, Harbach RE, Harrison BA, Panthusiri P, Coleman RE, Richardson JH. 2010. Illustrated keys to the mosquitoes of Thailand VI. Tribe Aedini. Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health 41 (1): 1-225.
Sayono S, Nurullita U, Sumanto D, Handoyo W. 2017. Altitudinal distribution of Aedes indices during the dry season in the dengue endemic area of Central Java, Indonesia. Ann Parasitol 63 (3): 213-221. https://doi.org/10.17420/ap6303.108.
Seal M, Chatterjee S. 2023. Combined effect of physico-chemical and microbial quality of breeding habitat water on oviposition of malarial vector Anopheles subpictus. PLoS One 18 (3): e0282825. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0282825.
Shapiro LLM, Whitehead SA, Thomas MB. 2017. Quantifying the effects of temperature on mosquito and parasite traits that determine the transmission potential of human malaria. PLoS Biol 15 (10): e2003489. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.2003489.
Su J, Zhao JY, Li YF, Lu YJ. 2024. Breeding sites, migration paths, and phylogenetic relationships of mosquitoes in seven cities in northern and southern China. Trop Biomed 41 (4): 471-480. https://doi.org/10.47665/tb.41.4.008.
Visser TM, Wang HD, Abbo SR, Vogels CBF, Koenraadt CJM, Pijlman GP. 2025. Effect of Chikungunya, Mayaro, and Una virus coinfection on vector competence of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. One Health 20: 100991. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.onehlt.2025.100991.
Wood M, Marshall S, Fargey S. 2019. Daily measurements of near‐surface humidity from a mesonet in the foothills of the Canadian Rocky Mountains, 2005-2010. Earth Syst Sci Data 11: 23-34. https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-11-23-2019.
WHO [World Health Organization]. 2020. Pictorial Identification Key of Important Disease Vectors in the WHO South-East Asia Region. World Health Organization, Regional Office for South-East Asia; New Delhi.