Effects of Plant-Community Composition on the Vectorial Capacity and Fitness of the Malaria Mosquito Anopheles gambiae

Dynamics of Anopheles gambiae abundance and malaria transmission potential rely strongly on environmental conditions. Female and male An. gambiae use sugar and are affected by its absence, but how the presence or absence of nectariferous plants affects An. gambiae abundance and vectorial capacity ha...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene 2012-10, Vol.87 (4), p.727-736
Main Authors: STONE, Christopher M, JACKSON, Bryan T, FOSTER, Woodbridge A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Anopheles - growth & development
Anopheles - physiology
Anopheles gambiae
Biological and medical sciences
Carbohydrates - analysis
Ecosystem
Female
Human protozoal diseases
Infectious diseases
Insect Vectors - growth & development
Insect Vectors - physiology
Kenya
Magnoliopsida - chemistry
Magnoliopsida - classification
Magnoliopsida - growth & development
Malaria
Malaria - transmission
Male
Medical sciences
Oviposition
Parasitic diseases
Plant Nectar - chemistry
Protozoal diseases
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Summary:Dynamics of Anopheles gambiae abundance and malaria transmission potential rely strongly on environmental conditions. Female and male An. gambiae use sugar and are affected by its absence, but how the presence or absence of nectariferous plants affects An. gambiae abundance and vectorial capacity has not been studied. We report on four replicates of a cohort study performed in mesocosms with sugar-poor and sugar-rich plants, in which we measured mosquito survival, biting rates, and fecundity. Survivorship was greater with access to sugar-rich plant species, and mortality patterns were age-dependent. Sugar-poor populations experienced Weibull mortality patterns, and of four populations in the sugar-rich environment, two female and three male subpopulations were better fitted by Gompertz functions. A tendency toward higher biting rates in sugar-poor mesocosms, particularly for young females, was found. Therefore, vectorial capacity was pulled in opposing directions by nectar availability, resulting in highly variable vectorial capacity values.
ISSN:0002-9637
1476-1645
DOI:10.4269/ajtmh.2012.12-0123