[01] Oljira Kenea Negasa, Department of Biology, College of Natural and Computational Sciences, Wollega University, Nekemte, Ethiopia. [02] Mebrate Dufera Bekere, Department of Biology, College of Natural and Computational Sciences, Wollega University, Nekemte, Ethiopia.

The study was conducted in the Anger River Valley of Ethiopia specifically in the Anger Gute resettlement villages from January to December 2018. Larval habitat survey was undertaken in three rural farming villages namely Tulu Lencha, Warabo and Dalasa Makanisa to assess An. gambiae s.l. larval density and the habitat characteristics. Year round anopheline mosquito positive larval habitat surveys were done every month within a 500 m radius of the villages and 700 m along the major streams which were located adjacent to the villages. The mosquito larval samplings were done using the standard dipping method. All the late instar (III and IV instar) anopheline larvae sampled were preserved in 70% alcohol in the field and later identified to An. gambiae s.l. using identification keys for the Ethiopian mosquitoes in an entomology laboratory at Wollega University. Mean comparison and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to reveal the characteristics of larval habitats and mean densities of the mosquito larvae. Results showed many diverse An. gambiae s.l. larval habitats in the villages. The major larval productive habitats were found to be rain pool puddles (35.0%) followed by river edge pools (23.5%). Most of the larval habitats were accessible along roads and streams during wet and dry season respectively. The mosquito larval abundances were significantly associated with aquatic habitats that had turbid standing water and habitats located near to human dwellings (<500 m). In conclusion, results underscore that rain pool puddles that occur along footways and roads closer to human habitation were the major An gambiae s.l. larval habitats during wet season. However, the stream edge pools that were formed along local streams were the most larval productive habitats during dry season. These findings implicate that targeting malaria mosquito larval intervention along footways and roads in wet season and along streams during dry season could result in effective malaria vector larval control in the study settings.

Anger Gute, Anopheles gambiae s.l., Larval Habitat, Malaria, Road, Resettlement, Stream

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