9. A meta-analytic approach to investigate mosquitoes’ (Diptera: Culicidae) blood feeding preferences from non-urban to urban environments
Diego Santiago‐Alarcón
Abstract
Anthropogenic impacts modify host-parasite interactions and increase the probability of pathogen spillover across the human-domestic-wildlife interface. Important human emergent diseases are vector-borne and have a zoonotic origin. The mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) are a family of blood sucking insects and their feeding preference may be plastic. In particular, host generalist species are of medical veterinary importance because they are more likely responsible for pathogen spillover into human and other animal species of economic and conservation concern. Although information on blood feeding preferences across the globe have accumulated during the last 50 years, there is not a clear understanding on how human induced land use changes affect those host preferences. Thus, here I conducted a meta-analysis summarising data since 1966 to the present. Results indicate that in general the Culicidae feed less on birds and wild mammals in urban environments, with a gradual increase on humans going from non-urban to urban conditions. Moreover, mosquito feeding rate on domestic mammals' peaks at periurban conditions. The analysis demonstrates that there is a significant publication bias, where most reported species are underrepresented and more knowledge is provided for a handful of species with medical veterinary importance. Blood meals from Culex quinquefasciatus and Culex pipiens were rarely reported in non-urban areas, they rather fed on birds and humans at the periurban and urban conditions. In the case of the highly invasive tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus), feeding rate on humans, domestic mammals, and birds was significant in the periurban condition, suggesting that this mosquito species is very important across the human-domestic-wild animal interface. Hence, the analysis suggests that mosquitoes readily feed on humans when available and that special attention must be placed across periurban areas (i.e. rural agricultural and sub-urban areas), where mosquito diet is more diverse in terms of vertebrate groups, and pathogen spillover may be more likely.