Development of Aedes spp Larvae in Media with Various pH and Salinity: Study on Experiment Approach in Laboratory

Department of Epidemiology and Tropical Desease Faculty of Public Health, Diponegoro University, Indonesia

^* Corresponding author: retnohestiningsih@gmail.com

Abstract

The development of Aedes spp, a type of mosquito, is closely tied to the water. They can adapt to different aquatic environments regardless of their characteristics. Understanding the traits of Aedes spp and the environmental factors that affect them is crucial for vector control. This study aimed to examine the impact of water acidity and salinity on the development of pre-imago Aedes spp. The observed developments included hatchability of eggs, ability to change from larvae to pupa (ecdysis), transformation from pupa to imago (explosion), and the longevity of the preimago stage. The research followed an experimental approach with a posttest only control group. Mosquito eggs obtained from Semarang Port Health Office Laboratory Semarang were used as research subjects. Data analysis was conducted using the Kruskal-Wallis test followed by the Mann-Whitney test. The tests for pre-imago development were carried out at different average acidity levels (5.2, 6.6, 7.2, 7.4, 8.5, and 9.3) and average salinity levels (0‰, 2‰, 4‰, 6‰, 8‰, 10‰), with four replications. The analysis revealed that there were no significant differences in the development of preimago Aedes spp under various water acidity conditions (egg hatchability pvalue = 0.736, ecdysis p-value = 0.814, explosion p-value = 0.591, longevity p-value = 0.227). However, the salinity analysis indicated different developments in pre-imago Aedes spp under varying salinity conditions (egg hatchability p-value = 0.006, ecdysis p-value = 0.001, explosion p-value = 0.001, longevity p-value = 0.003).