Annual Research & Review in Biology

The relative abundance of the of three mosquito groups namely Anopheles, Culex and Aedes distribution was studied within Port Harcourt Metropolis (latitude 4°43’E – 4°50’ E and longitude 6o 57’N – 7°05’N). Collections of mosquitoes and the volume of water were from twenty three microhabitats. The microhabitats were subdivided into Human_Use micro-habitats (HUM) and Vegetation microhabitats (VDM). The results show the dominance of three mosquito groups belonging to three genera (Anopheles, Culex and Aedes species. From a total of 2101 mosquito larvae, Vegetation derived microhabitats showed 526 (10.6%) were from Paw-Paw Stems; 485 (9.7%) from Flower Pots; 406 (8.2%) from Coconut husks; 317 (6.4%),from Palm tree trunk; 110 (2.2%) from tree trunks; 65 (1.3%) from Pine Apple axils; 61 (1.2%) from Banana axils; 53 (1.1%) from Cocoyam axils; 46 (0.9%) from Plantain axils and 32 (0.7%) from mushrooms. From a total of 3357 mosquito larvae the mosquito abundance from human-derived microhabitats shows a total of 637 (12.4%) were from Septic tanks, 485 (9.7%) from flower pots, 455 (9.2%) from Refuse Dumps, 410 (8.2%) from Cups, 340 (6.8%) from Containers, 291(5.9%) from Earthenware Pots, 287 (5.8%) from Plastic Chairs, 125 (2.5%) from Plastic shoes, 110 (2.2%) from leather shoes, 93 (1.6%) from Sachet water, 66 (1.6%) from Plastic plates, 30 (0.6%) from Spoons, 19 (0.4%) from Canvas shoes and 10 (0.3%) from Cream Containers. No marked significant difference among the microhabitats (p < 0.05) were shown from an ANOVA analysis between the Human_Use derived micro-habitats (HUM) and Vegetation derived microhabitats (VDM). The likely adaptation to diversity of habitats is adduced as a function of oxygen availability with the right physicochemical conditions especially for the Anopheles group. Further studies on a geographic scale are needed to identify the inherent risk of any emerging ecological adaptations and potential threat to public health.