Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory, University of Florida, 200 9th St. SE, Vero Beach, FL, USA.
Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, 110 Newins-Ziegler Hall, Gainesville, FL, USA.
Parasit Vectors. 2018 Sep 10;11(1):505. doi: 10.1186/s13071-018-3080-5.
Many important vector arthropods are known to stratify vertically in forest environments, a phenomenon which has important implications for vector-borne disease transmission and vector control. Culicoides Latreille biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) have been documented using the forest canopy; however, studies of this phenomenon are lacking for many Culicoides species found in great abundance in the state of Florida, USA, some of which have been implicated as suspected vectors of hemorrhagic diseases of white-tailed deer. The present study aimed to determine whether common Culicoides species in Florida stratify vertically and to determine whether strata used by midges corresponded to host use.
Trapping was conducted at a big game preserve in Gadsden County, FL, USA. Over two summer field seasons in 2016 and 2017, CDC miniature light traps were set at two levels, one set at 1.37 m, designated as the ground trap, and a nearby trap in the forest canopy set at 6 m during 2016 and 9 m during 2017. Species abundance, physiological status, and blood-meal sources were analyzed and compared between trap heights.
Species abundances for C. haematopotus, C. stellifer and C. venustus were not significantly different between trap heights during the 2016 season; however, canopy traps were found to have significantly higher abundance of C. arboricola, C. biguttatus, C. debilipalpis, C. haematopotus, C. insignis and C. stellifer than ground traps in 2017. Greater numbers of blood-engorged midges were collected in the canopy compared with ground traps during both study years, and 98.6% and 98.7% of blood meals from canopy collected midges were taken from ground-dwelling mammals in 2016 and 2017, respectively.
Culicoides species in Florida, including species implicated as vectors of hemorrhagic disease viruses, are found in great abundance in the forest canopy. Many midges are feeding on host species that are known reservoirs of hemorrhagic disease and then moving into the forest canopy, which has implications for the calculation of vectorial capacity. These data contribute valuable ecological information on Culicoides species found in Florida and provide a framework for developing effective vector control strategies to target these species.
已知许多重要的病媒节肢动物在森林环境中垂直分层，这种现象对病媒传播和病媒控制具有重要意义。已经记录了库蠓属（双翅目：蠓科）在森林冠层中使用；然而，对于在美国佛罗里达州大量存在的许多库蠓物种，这种现象的研究却很少，其中一些被怀疑是白尾鹿出血性疾病的疑似媒介。本研究旨在确定佛罗里达州常见的库蠓是否垂直分层，并确定库蠓使用的层与宿主使用是否对应。
在佛罗里达州加兹登县的一个大猎物保护区进行了诱捕。在 2016 年和 2017 年的两个夏季野外季节中，CDC 微型灯诱捕器在两个水平上设置，一个设置在 1.37 米处，指定为地面诱捕器，另一个在森林冠层中的附近诱捕器设置在 2016 年为 6 米，2017 年为 9 米。分析并比较了不同诱捕高度的物种丰度、生理状态和血液来源。
在 2016 年的季节中，C. haematopotus、C. stellifer 和 C. venustus 的物种丰度在诱捕器高度之间没有显著差异；然而，在 2017 年，发现冠层诱捕器中的 C. arboricola、C. biguttatus、C. debilipalpis、C. haematopotus、C. insignis 和 C. stellifer 的丰度明显高于地面诱捕器。在两个研究年份中，与地面诱捕器相比，在冠层中收集到的血吸饱的库蠓数量更多，2016 年和 2017 年分别有 98.6%和 98.7%的冠层采集的库蠓血液来源于地面栖息的哺乳动物。
佛罗里达州的库蠓物种，包括被怀疑传播出血性疾病病毒的物种，在森林冠层中大量存在。许多库蠓以已知的出血性疾病储主为食，然后进入森林冠层，这对计算病媒传播能力有影响。这些数据为佛罗里达州发现的库蠓物种提供了有价值的生态信息，并为制定针对这些物种的有效病媒控制策略提供了框架。
