Comparing the Mosquito-Larvivorous Capacity of the Native Esomus danrica With the Exotic Gambusia affinis and Poecilia reticulata as Biological Vector Control Agents: An Experimental Study

Background: Larvivorous fishes are important biological vector control agents. Gambusia affinis and Poecilia reticulata are the most well-known larvivorous fishes used around the world. But introducing exotic fish for biocontrol has adverse long-term impacts. Indigenous fishes with larvivorous potential are more sensible alternatives. Methodology: Time-bound predation experiments were conducted on three fish species, G. affinis, P. reticulata, and Esomus danrica, using mosquito larvae as prey. A total of 90 experiments were conducted, 30 on G. affinis, 30 on P. reticulata, and another 30 experiments on E. danrica. Results: One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to compare the larvivorous capacity of the three fish species. The ANOVA revealed a significant difference in mean scores, F (2, 87) = 10.421, P-value < 0.001. Post hoc comparison was done using Tukey's Honestly Significant Difference (HSD) test, which revealed a significant difference in larvivorous capacity of G. affinis with P. reticulata (P-value = 0.010) and E. danrica (P-value = <0.001) individually. However, no significant difference was found in the larvivorous capacity between P. reticulata and E. danrica (P-value = 0.292, effect size (Cohen's d) = 0.417 (small)). The mean larval consumption was 11.60 (standard deviation (SD) = 3.635) for G. affinis, 9.10 (SD = 2.771) for P. reticulata, and 7.83 (SD = 3.291) for E. danrica​​​​.​ Conclusions: Our native larvivorous fish (E. danrica) showed promising larvivorous capacity. There is a need for further studies that consider additional factors influencing larvivorous capacity, as well as field experiments to determine larvivorous efficacy.