Blood feeding patterns of mosquitoes: random or structured?

• Authors: Luis F. Chaves, Emory University; Laura C. Harrington, Cornell University; Carolyn L. Keogh, University of Georgia; Andy M. Nguyen, Columbia University; Uriel Kitron, Emory University
• Journal Title: Frontiers in Zoology
• Volume: Volume 7, Number 3
• Publisher: BioMed Central | 2010-01-21, Pages 1-11
• Type of Work: Article | Final Publisher PDF
• Publisher DOI: http://doi.org/10.1186/1742-9994-7-3
• Subjects: Biology, Entomology; Health Sciences, Epidemiology

Abstract

Background: The foraging behavior of blood-sucking arthropods is the defining biological event shaping the transmission cycle of vector-borne parasites. It is also a phenomenon that pertains to the realm of community ecology, since blood-feeding patterns of vectors can occur across a community of vertebrate hosts. Although great advances in knowledge of the genetic basis for blood-feeding choices have been reported for selected vector species, little is known about the role of community composition of vertebrate hosts in determining such patterns. Methods & Results: Here, we present an analysis of feeding patterns of vectors across a variety of locations, looking at foraging patterns of communities of mosquitoes, across communities of hosts primarily comprised of mammals and birds. Using null models of species co-occurrence, which do not require ancillary information about host abundance, we found that blood-feeding patterns were aggregated in studies from multiple sites, but random in studies from a single site. This combination of results supports the idea that mosquito species in a community may rely primarily on host availability in a given landscape, and that contacts with specific hosts will be influenced more by the presence/absence of hosts than by innate mosquito choices. This observation stresses the importance of blood-feeding plasticity as a key trait explaining the emergence of many zoonotic mosquito transmitted diseases. Discussion: From an epidemiological perspective our observations support the idea that phenomena promoting synchronization of vectors and hosts can promote the emergence of vector-borne zoonotic diseases, as suggested by observations on the linkages between deforestation and the emergence of several human diseases.