Table 1.
Predation efficiency of the copepod Mesocyclops aspericornis against larvae of Anopheles stephensi and Aedes aegypti.
| Mosquito Species | Targeted Instar | Number of Consumed Prey | Total Predation (n) | Consumed Prey per Copepod per Day |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Control | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | ||||
| Anopheles stephensi | Larva I | 0 | 36.6 ± 2.6 | 37.2 ± 1.0 | 35.6 ± 1.5 | 33.6 ± 3.5 | 30.5 ± 1.2 | 173.5 | 3.47 |
| Larva II | 0 | 22.8 ± 0.5 | 20.8 ± 0.8 | 19.2 ± 0.8 | 18.9 ± 2.1 | 20.4 ± 1.6 | 102.1 | 2.04 | |
| Larva III | 0 | 8.1 ± 1.9 | 7.6 ± 1.1 | 7.1 ± 0.4 | 7.5 ± 1.5 | 7.8 ± 1.0 | 38.1 | 0.76 | |
| Larva IV | 0 | 2.3 ± 2.1 | 2.2 ± 1.0 | 2.2 ± 1.7 | 2.6 ± 1.6 | 2.5 ± 1.3 | 11.8 | 0.23 | |
| Aedes aegypti | Larva I | 0 | 60.3 ± 1.8 | 58.1 ± 2.8 | 55.4 ± 1.0 | 57.9 ± 0.7 | 56.1 ± 2.4 | 287.8 | 5.75 |
| Larva II | 0 | 49.2 ± 1.4 | 47.6 ± 2.4 | 45.2 ± 0.9 | 47.8 ± 2.4 | 47.1 ± 1.8 | 236.9 | 4.73 | |
| Larva III | 0 | 26.1 ± 1.8 | 24.3 ± 0.5 | 22.4 ± 2.0 | 21.3 ± 3.1 | 20.9 ± 1.0 | 115 | 2.3 | |
| Larva IV | 0 | 9.5 ± 0.6 | 8.9 ± 1.8 | 8.6 ± 2.6 | 8.9 ± 2.4 | 9.2 ± 1.1 | 45.1 | 0.90 | |
Predation efficiency results with means ± SD of five replicates (10 copepods vs. 100 mosquitoes per replicate). The control was clean water without copepods (p < 0.05).