Department of Wetland Ecology, Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC), C/Américo Vespucio 26, 41092, Seville, Spain.
CIBER de Epidemiología y Salud Publica, Seville, Spain.
Parasit Vectors. 2019 Mar 12;12(1):87. doi: 10.1186/s13071-019-3342-x.
The transmission of mosquito-borne pathogens is strongly influenced by the contact rates between mosquitoes and susceptible hosts. The biting rates of mosquitoes depend on different factors including the mosquito species and host-related traits (i.e. odour, heat and behaviour). However, host characteristics potentially affecting intraspecific differences in the biting rate of mosquitoes are poorly known. Here, we assessed the impact of three host-related traits on the biting rate of two mosquito species with different feeding preferences: the ornithophilic Culex pipiens and the mammophilic Ochlerotatus (Aedes) caspius. Seventy-two jackdaws Corvus monedula and 101 house sparrows Passer domesticus were individually exposed to mosquito bites to test the effect of host sex, body mass and infection status by the avian malaria parasite Plasmodium on biting rates.
Ochlerotatus caspius showed significantly higher biting rates than Cx. pipiens on jackdaws, but non-significant differences were found on house sparrows. In addition, more Oc. caspius fed on female than on male jackdaws, while no differences were found for Cx. pipiens. The biting rate of mosquitoes on house sparrows increased through the year. The bird infection status and body mass of both avian hosts were not related to the biting rate of both mosquito species.
Host sex was the only host-related trait potentially affecting the biting rate of mosquitoes, although its effect may differ between mosquito and host species.
蚊媒病原体的传播受到蚊子与易感宿主之间接触率的强烈影响。蚊子的叮咬率取决于不同的因素，包括蚊种和与宿主相关的特征（即气味、热量和行为）。然而，潜在影响蚊子种内叮咬率差异的宿主特征知之甚少。在这里，我们评估了三个与宿主相关的特征对两种具有不同摄食偏好的蚊子（嗜鸟的库蚊和嗜哺乳动物的尖音库蚊）的叮咬率的影响。72 只寒鸦和 101 只家麻雀分别暴露于蚊子叮咬，以测试宿主性别、体重和感染疟原虫对摄食率的影响。
尖音库蚊在寒鸦上的叮咬率明显高于库蚊，但在麻雀上则没有显著差异。此外，尖音库蚊在雌性寒鸦上的叮咬率高于雄性，而库蚊则没有差异。蚊子在麻雀上的叮咬率随着时间的推移而增加。两种鸟类宿主的感染状况和体重与两种蚊子的叮咬率均无关系。
宿主性别是唯一可能影响蚊子叮咬率的与宿主相关的特征，尽管其影响可能因蚊种和宿主种类而异。
