LSTM Home > LSTM Research > LSTM Online Archive

Species abundance, composition, and nocturnal activity of female Anopheles (Diptera: Culicidae) in malaria-endemic villages of Papua New Guinea: assessment with barrier screen sampling

Keven, John B, Katusele, Michelle, Vinit, Rebecca, Koimbu, Gussy, Vincent, Naomi, Thomsen, Edward ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1136-6430, Karl, Stephan, Reimer, Lisa ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9711-4981 and Walker, Edward D (2019) 'Species abundance, composition, and nocturnal activity of female Anopheles (Diptera: Culicidae) in malaria-endemic villages of Papua New Guinea: assessment with barrier screen sampling'. Malaria Journal, Vol 18, Issue 96.

[img]
Preview
Text
Keven et al. - 2019 - Species abundance composition and nocturnal activity of female Anopheles ( Diptera Culicidae ) in malaria e.pdf - Published Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution.

Download (2MB) | Preview

Abstract

Background
Community composition of Anopheles mosquitoes, and their host-seeking and peridomestic behaviour, are important factors affecting malaria transmission. In this study, barrier screen sampling was used to investigate species composition, abundance, and nocturnal activity of Anopheles populations in villages of Papua New Guinea.
Methods
Mosquitoes were sampled from 6 pm to 6 am in five villages from 2012 to 2016. The barrier screens were positioned between the village houses and the perimeter of villages where cultivated and wild vegetation (“the bush”) grew thickly. Female Anopheles that rested on either village or bush side of the barrier screens, as they commuted into and out of the villages, were captured. Similarity in species composition among villages was assessed. Mosquitoes captured on village and bush sides of the barrier screens were sorted by feeding status and by hour of collection, and their numbers were compared using negative binomial generalized linear models.
Results
Females of seven Anopheles species were present in the sample. Species richness ranged from four to six species per village, but relative abundance was highly uneven within and between villages, and community composition was similar for two pairs of villages and highly dissimilar in a fifth. For most Anopheles populations, more unfed than blood-fed mosquitoes were collected from the barrier screens. More blood-fed mosquitoes were found on the side of the barrier screens facing the village and relatively more unfed ones on the bush side, suggesting commuting behaviour of unfed host-seeking females into the villages from nearby bush and commuting of blood-fed females away from villages towards the bush. For most populations, the majority of host-seeking mosquitoes arrived in the village before midnight when people were active and unprotected from the mosquitoes by bed nets.
Conclusion
The uneven distribution of Anopheles species among villages, with each site dominated by different species, even among nearby villages, emphasizes the importance of vector heterogeneity in local malaria transmission and control. Yet, for most species, nocturnal activity patterns of village entry and host seeking predominantly occurred before midnight indicating common behaviours across species and populations relative to human risk of exposure to Anopheles bites.

Item Type: Article
Subjects: QX Parasitology > Insects. Other Parasites > QX 510 Mosquitoes
QX Parasitology > Insects. Other Parasites > QX 515 Anopheles
WA Public Health > Health Problems of Special Population Groups > WA 395 Health in developing countries
Faculty: Department: Biological Sciences > Vector Biology Department
Digital Object Identifer (DOI): https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-019-2742-x
Depositing User: Stacy Murtagh
Date Deposited: 29 Mar 2019 11:18
Last Modified: 09 Sep 2019 08:41
URI: https://archive.lstmed.ac.uk/id/eprint/10546

Statistics

View details

Actions (login required)

Edit Item Edit Item