Hopken Matthew W, Reyes-Torres Limarie J, Scavo Nicole, Piaggio Antoinette J, Abdo Zaid, Taylor Daniel, Pierce James, Yee Donald A
Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA.
United States Department of Agriculture National Wildlife Research Center, Fort Collins, CO 80521, USA.
Insects. 2021 Feb 2;12(2):129. doi: 10.3390/insects12020129.
Urban ecosystems are a patchwork of habitats that host a broad diversity of animal species. Insects comprise a large portion of urban biodiversity which includes many pest species, including those that transmit pathogens. Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) inhabit urban environments and rely on sympatric vertebrate species to complete their life cycles, and in this process transmit pathogens to animals and humans. Given that mosquitoes feed upon vertebrates, they can also act as efficient samplers that facilitate detection of vertebrate species that utilize urban ecosystems. In this study, we analyzed DNA extracted from mosquito blood meals collected temporally in multiple neighborhoods of the San Juan Metropolitan Area, Puerto Rico to evaluate the presence of vertebrate fauna. DNA was collected from 604 individual mosquitoes that represented two common urban species, ( = 586) and ( = 18). fed on 17 avian taxa (81.2% of blood meals), seven mammalian taxa (17.9%), and one reptilian taxon (0.85%). Domestic chickens dominated these blood meals both temporally and spatially, and no statistically significant shift from birds to mammals was detected. blood meals were from a less diverse group, with two avian taxa (11.1%) and three mammalian taxa (88.9%) identified. The blood meals we identified provided a snapshot of the vertebrate community in the San Juan Metropolitan Area and have potential implications for vector-borne pathogen transmission.
城市生态系统是由各种栖息地拼凑而成的，栖息着种类繁多的动物。昆虫构成了城市生物多样性的很大一部分，其中包括许多害虫物种，包括那些传播病原体的物种。蚊子（双翅目：蚊科）栖息在城市环境中，依靠同域脊椎动物物种来完成其生命周期，并在此过程中将病原体传播给动物和人类。鉴于蚊子以脊椎动物为食，它们也可以作为有效的采样者，有助于检测利用城市生态系统的脊椎动物物种。在这项研究中，我们分析了从波多黎各圣胡安都会区多个社区按时间收集的蚊子血餐中提取的DNA，以评估脊椎动物区系的存在情况。DNA是从604只个体蚊子中收集的，这些蚊子代表了两种常见的城市物种，（=586）和（=18）。以17种鸟类分类群（占血餐的81.2%）、7种哺乳动物分类群（17.9%）和1种爬行动物分类群（0.85%）为食。家鸡在这些血餐中在时间和空间上都占主导地位，未检测到从鸟类到哺乳动物的统计学显著变化。的血餐来自一个多样性较低的群体，鉴定出两种鸟类分类群（11.1%）和三种哺乳动物分类群（88.9%）。我们鉴定出的血餐提供了圣胡安都会区脊椎动物群落的一个快照，并对媒介传播病原体的传播具有潜在影响。
