Abundance index (SISA) of mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) in Mazandaran Province, northern Iran

Background: Mosquitoes have worldwide distribution except Antarctica. They transmit various pathogens and are active in the tropical regions of the world for the whole year, but they may hibernate in temperate areas. Employing indices to calculate the most abundant species of mosquito in an area can be useful for comparing fauna of an areas or habitat and in more practical position, assessing problems related to vector species or pests.Objectives: The purpose of this study was to identify the most abundant species of larva/adult of mosquitoes in Mazandaran Province by using Index of Species Abundance (ISA/SISA).Materials and Methods: Sampling were performed in 16 counties of Mazandaran Province, once a month from May to December 2014. Index of Species Abundance (ISA) was used for assessing the most abundant species of mosquito adults/larvae in the province based on the explanations of Robert and His. Standardized Index of Species Abundance (SISA) was applied as a standardized formula for ISA by converting to a scale from zero to one with ISA formula changes.Results: Based on the results of this study, larvae of Culex pipiens, Cx. torrentium and Cx. tritaeniorhynchus showed values of SISA 1(ISA=1), 0.805(ISA=3.62) and 0.564 (ISA=6.87), respectively, whereas it was 0.550 (ISA=7.06) for Anopheles maculipennis s.l. Among the Culicinae adults, SISA was 0.957 (ISA=1.62), 0.716 (ISA=5.12) and 0.319 (ISA=10.87) in association with Cx. pipiens, Cx. tritaeniorhynchus and Aedes vexans, respectively. Anopheles maculipennis s.l. and An. pseudopictus displayed value of SISA 0.621 (ISA=6.5) and 0.409 (ISA=9.56)Conclusion: The SISA revealed that the Cx. pipiens and An. maculipennis s.l. were the most abundant species in the province. Since these species are vectors of diseases, further studies are needed in the area.

Keywords:

Mosquito , index of Abundance (ISA/SISA) , Mazandaran