Association of cyclopoid copepods with the habitat of the malaria vector Anopheles aquasalis in the peninsula of Paria, Venezuela.

The southern region of the Paria Peninsula shows a high malaria incidence. This work relates the abundances of cyclopoid species and the malaria vector Anopheles aquasalis to certain abiotic parameters and vegetation features. Samples were collected over a 4-month period in several habitats, including marsh, irrigation channel, lagoon, and mangrove swamp during the wet season and the wet-dry transition. Dominant plant species in the marsh were Typha dominguensis and Eleocharis mutata. Mesocyclops meridianus also was dominant in the marsh. Highest densities of An. aquasalis larvae, as well as lowest pH values and highest sulfate concentrations, were found in habitats containing E. mutata. Statistical correlation analysis showed that abundances of M. longisetus longisetus and An. aquasalis larvae were positively and significantly correlated in the irrigation channel, and abundances of M. meridianus and An. aquasalis larvae were negatively and significantly correlated in the E. mutata marsh.