Use of a remote sensing-based geographic information system in the characterizing spatial patterns for Anopheles minimus A and C breeding habitats in western Thailand.

ABSTRACT

A remote sensing (RS)-based Geographic Information System (GIS) was used to characterize the breeding habitats of Anopheles minimus species A and C in five different districts of Kanchanaburi Province in western Thailand. The GIS and RS were used to monitor the area for the presence and absence of An. minimus A and C in five major land areas, forest, agriculture, urban, water and bare land. The results show that An. minimus A survives both in dense canopy forest and in open fields where agriculture is dominant. A scatter plot of land-use/land-cover for An. minimus, considering proximities to the forest and proximities to agriculture, suggests that An. minimus A has a wider habitat preference, ranging from dense canopy forest to open agricultural fields. A scatter plot for An. minimus C, on the other hand, showed a narrow habitat preference. A scatter plot for proximities performed on separate populations of An. minimus species A, one in the north and the other in the south, showed that there was an association in the northern population with the forest and in the southern population with agricultural areas. There were no statistically significant differences in the scatter plot of proximities to urban areas and water bodies with the An. minimus A north, south, and An. minimus C. LANDSAT TM satellite data classification was used to identify larval habitats that produce An. minimus A and C and analyze proximities between land-use/land-cover classes and locations of larval habitats. An. minimus A has a wide habitat preference, from dense canopy forest to open agricultural fields, while An. minimus C has a narrow habitat preference.