Does the depth of breeding habitat matter for the mosquito larval development? Validating using Culex quinquefasciatus as a model species

Does the depth of breeding habitat matter for the mosquito larval development? Validating using Culex quinquefasciatus as a model species | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Does the depth of breeding habitat matter for the mosquito larval development? Validating using Culex quinquefasciatus as a model species Abhijit Sikary, Sabarni Chakraborty, Susmita Roy, Goutam K Saha, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8722834/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 10 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The water depth in the larval habitat determines the developmental pace and life history traits in mosquitoes. An experiment was conducted with three levels of initial rearing densities of Culex quinquefasciatus instar I larva (1, 5 and 10 larvae) under 5 different water column heights (2.5, 3.5, 7, 17.5, and 36 cm) to assess the effects on the age at pupation (AP), pupal weight (PW), adult weight (AW) and wing length (WL). The life history traits did not vary with the water depth excepting for AP which was delayed with increased water height (r= -0.765, in terms of growth rate). However, the density dependent effects on the life history traits were observed. A significant difference (P < 0.05) was observed when the index of fitness for PW, AW, and WL were derived using the AP as denominator. An exponential model defining the developmental rate was used to validate the variations in the life history traits as a function of the water depth. Apparently, with no food limitation, the larval development was found to be delayed with the water height without compromising the attainment of the requisite values of the PW, AW and WL. Culex quinquefasciatus water column heights larval development growth parameters larval density Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviews received at journal 16 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 16 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 12 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 06 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 06 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 06 Apr, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 06 Apr, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 29 Jan, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 29 Jan, 2026 First submitted to journal 28 Jan, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8722834","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":621213326,"identity":"48faff5a-9aa2-483c-adcd-ae62143e6920","order_by":0,"name":"Abhijit Sikary","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Calcutta","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Abhijit","middleName":"","lastName":"Sikary","suffix":""},{"id":621213327,"identity":"db33cc60-86fc-4fa9-8278-daa0c2d158bc","order_by":1,"name":"Sabarni Chakraborty","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Calcutta","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Sabarni","middleName":"","lastName":"Chakraborty","suffix":""},{"id":621213328,"identity":"b0fc4b9e-8dd3-4119-92d9-0de5a8d09f4e","order_by":2,"name":"Susmita Roy","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Calcutta","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Susmita","middleName":"","lastName":"Roy","suffix":""},{"id":621213329,"identity":"502b6e6e-2b69-43ff-8dd3-4ccab64c28fb","order_by":3,"name":"Goutam K Saha","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Calcutta","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Goutam","middleName":"K","lastName":"Saha","suffix":""},{"id":621213330,"identity":"3b903b77-2440-4739-8867-7a754c32c08b","order_by":4,"name":"Gautam Aditya","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"","institution":"University of Calcutta","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Gautam","middleName":"","lastName":"Aditya","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-01-28 15:39:39","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8722834/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8722834/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":106789294,"identity":"5afeb517-0d77-4834-9cbb-8cc48d0c8be0","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-13 13:03:51","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":492961,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"JTIMSAS2026.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8722834/v1_covered_954f0502-e994-4ec1-ba92-a52aa0e66ef1.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Does the depth of breeding habitat matter for the mosquito larval development? 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An experiment was conducted with three levels of initial rearing densities of \u003cem\u003eCulex quinquefasciatus\u003c/em\u003e instar I larva (1, 5 and 10 larvae) under 5 different water column heights (2.5, 3.5, 7, 17.5, and 36 cm) to assess the effects on the age at pupation (AP), pupal weight (PW), adult weight (AW) and wing length (WL). The life history traits did not vary with the water depth excepting for AP which was delayed with increased water height (r= -0.765, in terms of growth rate). However, the density dependent effects on the life history traits were observed. A significant difference (P\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05) was observed when the index of fitness for PW, AW, and WL were derived using the AP as denominator. An exponential model defining the developmental rate was used to validate the variations in the life history traits as a function of the water depth. 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