Gudex-Cross David, Barraclough Rosemary K, Brunton Dianne H, Derraik José G B
Institute of Natural Sciences, Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand.
Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, USA.
Ecohealth. 2015 Sep;12(3):432-40. doi: 10.1007/s10393-015-1039-y. Epub 2015 Jun 12.
Forest fragmentation and agricultural development are important anthropogenic landscape alterations affecting the disease dynamics of malarial parasites (Plasmodium spp.), largely through their effects on vector communities. We compared vector abundance and species composition at two forest edge sites abutting pastureland and two forest interior sites in New Zealand, while simultaneously assessing avian malaria prevalence in silvereyes (Zosterops lateralis). Twenty-two of 240 (9.2%) individual silvereyes captured across all sites tested positive for avian malaria, and Plasmodium prevalence was nearly identical in edge and interior habitats. A total of 580 mosquito specimens were trapped across all sites. These comprised five different species: the introduced Aedes notoscriptus and Culex quinquefasciatus; the native A. antipodeus, C. asteliae and C. pervigilans. The known avian malaria vector C. quinquefasciatus was only recorded in the forest edge (mostly at ground level). In contrast, the probable vector C. pervigilans was abundant and widespread in both edge and interior sites. Although frequently caught in ground traps, more C. pervigilans specimens were captured in the canopy. This study shows that avian malaria prevalence among silvereyes appeared to be unaffected by forest fragmentation, at least at the scale assessed. Introduced mosquito species were almost completely absent from the forest interior, and thus our study provides further circumstantial evidence that native mosquito species (in particular C. pervigilans) play an important role in avian malaria transmission in New Zealand.
森林碎片化和农业发展是重要的人为景观改变，主要通过对媒介群落的影响，进而影响疟原虫（疟原虫属）的疾病动态。我们比较了新西兰两个毗邻牧场的森林边缘地点和两个森林内部地点的媒介丰度和物种组成，同时评估了银眼鸟（纹背绿莺）的禽疟流行情况。在所有地点捕获的240只银眼鸟中，有22只（9.2%）检测出禽疟呈阳性，边缘栖息地和内部栖息地的疟原虫流行率几乎相同。所有地点共捕获了580只蚊子标本。这些标本包括五个不同的物种：外来的致倦库蚊和白纹伊蚊；本地的反波伊蚊、阿氏库蚊和嗜眠库蚊。已知的禽疟媒介致倦库蚊只在森林边缘被记录到（大多在地面）。相比之下，可能的媒介嗜眠库蚊在边缘和内部地点都大量存在且分布广泛。虽然嗜眠库蚊经常在地面诱捕器中被捕获，但更多的嗜眠库蚊标本是在树冠层捕获的。这项研究表明，至少在评估的尺度上，银眼鸟中的禽疟流行率似乎不受森林碎片化的影响。森林内部几乎完全没有外来蚊子物种，因此我们的研究进一步提供了间接证据，表明本地蚊子物种（特别是嗜眠库蚊）在新西兰禽疟传播中发挥着重要作用。
