Working Group Biodiversity of Aquatic and Semiaquatic Landscape Features, Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), Eberswalder Str. 84, 15374, Müncheberg, Germany.
Institute of Infectology, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institute (FLI), Südufer 10, 17493, Greifswald, Germany.
Sci Rep. 2021 May 11;11(1):10007. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-86163-9.
Culicoides are vectors of pathogens mainly of veterinary importance. To establish targeted vector control measures, it is paramount to comprehend the ecological factors determining their distribution. Therefore, we used emergence traps to sample eight biotopes and assess their potential as breeding sites. Part one of the study investigates agricultural habitats, part two compares four biotopes of a forest-dominated area with less anthropogenic influence, including a physicochemical analysis of soil moisture, pH value and organic content. Thirteen culicoid species were collected, with a strong dominance of the Obsoletus Complex on meadows, and with Culicoides punctatus (MEIGEN), Culicoides pictipennis (STAEGER) and the Obsoletus Complex, to be the most abundant species in the natural habitats. Several co-existing species were found, some of them not having been described before. Our results suggest that ungrazed meadows seem unsuitable as breeding sites. Only the influence of livestock creates adequate conditions for certain midge species. The alder on fen site contained most culicoid species with the highest species diversity. Our study clearly indicates that knowledge of species-specific preferences for environmental habitat conditions (choice of breeding site) in connection to soil conditions is crucial to understand the biology and phenology of midges and their role as vectors of pathogens.
虻类是主要具有兽医重要性的病原体载体。为了制定有针对性的媒介控制措施，了解决定其分布的生态因素至关重要。因此，我们使用诱虫器对 8 种生境进行采样，并评估它们作为繁殖地的潜力。研究的第一部分调查了农业生境，第二部分比较了四个受人为影响较小的森林主导区的生境，包括对土壤水分、pH 值和有机含量的理化分析。共采集到 13 种虻类，其中虻属（Obsoletus Complex）在草地上占主导地位，刺突角虻（Culicoides punctatus）、斑点角虻（Culicoides pictipennis）和虻属（Obsoletus Complex）是自然生境中最丰富的物种。还发现了一些共存的物种，其中一些以前没有描述过。我们的研究结果表明，未放牧的草地似乎不适合作为繁殖地。只有牲畜的存在才能为某些蠓类创造合适的条件。沼泽上的桤木林生境包含了最多的虻类物种，具有最高的物种多样性。我们的研究清楚地表明，了解特定物种对环境生境条件（繁殖地选择）的偏好与土壤条件之间的关系，对于理解蠓类的生物学和物候学及其作为病原体载体的作用至关重要。
