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The Relation of certain Algae to Breeding Places of Mosquitos in Queensland*
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 July 2009
Extract
(1) An effort has been made to find an explanation for certain problems involved in the selection of breeding-places of mosquitos in Queensland.
(2) Many of these problems must remain unsolved until it is possible by patient study of local conditions to bring all the factors involved into play.
(3) In order to explain the reason for the avoidance of natural water, where it exists, it is suggested that the soils that underlie them should first be taken into consideration, and that the waters should be examined with reference to their physical and chemical conditions.
(4) Observations and experiments, spread over a period of eighteen months, confirm the findings of previous authors that Characeae do not in themselves possess larvicidal properties.
(5) That food is the main determining factor in the choice of preferential breeding-places seems to be borne out by actual results obtained, and that when such are not available, mosquitos will resort to breeding-places of compulsion, such places being usually observed to be entirely or partly devoid of food supplies.
(6) It is suggested that the salts of alumina and iron in the ferrous state tend to destroy food organisms, and that where these conditions exist, the water is not selected preferentially.
(7) The presence of algae leads to the appearance of Anopheles annulipes.
(8) That Cladophora holsatica inhibits larval growth seems to be experimentally established.
(9) Bacterial scums are mainly due to B. subtilis and have a tendency to produce a slight alkalinity.
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