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Blood meal sources of mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) in domestic and open green environments from two urbanisations of temperate Argentina

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 December 2023

Karelly Melgarejo-Colmenares Open the ORCID record for Karelly Melgarejo-Colmenares [Opens in a new window] ,
Darío Vezzani Open the ORCID record for Darío Vezzani [Opens in a new window] ,
Alejandra Gallego  and
María V Cardo Open the ORCID record for María V Cardo [Opens in a new window]
Karelly Melgarejo-Colmenares*
Affiliation:
IIIA-UNSAM-CONICET, Instituto de Investigación e Ingeniería Ambiental, Escuela de Hábitat y Sostenibilidad, San Martín, Provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Darío Vezzani
Affiliation:
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Buenos Aires, Argentina Instituto Multidisciplinario sobre Ecosistemas y Desarrollo Sustentable, UNCPBA-CICPBA, Tandil, Provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina
Alejandra Gallego
Affiliation:
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Buenos Aires, Argentina Instituto Multidisciplinario sobre Ecosistemas y Desarrollo Sustentable, UNCPBA-CICPBA, Tandil, Provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina
María V Cardo
Affiliation:
IIIA-UNSAM-CONICET, Instituto de Investigación e Ingeniería Ambiental, Escuela de Hábitat y Sostenibilidad, San Martín, Provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Buenos Aires, Argentina
*
Corresponding author: Karelly Melgarejo-Colmenares; Email: kmelgarejo@unsam.edu.ar
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Abstract

Understanding the blood-feeding patterns of mosquitoes is essential for evaluating their potential as disease vectors, especially in urban areas where mosquitoes coexist with humans, domestic animals and wildlife. This study aimed to bridge a substantial gap in regional knowledge by identifying the blood meal sources of field-collected mosquitoes in domestic and open green environments from two urbanisations of temperate Argentina, the Área Metropolitana de Buenos Aires (AMBA) and Tandil, using molecular techniques. Female mosquitoes were collected from November 2019 to March 2020 and April–May 2021. A bipartite network analysis was performed for each environment and urbanisation. A total of 103 blood meals from Aedes (2 species) and Culex (7 species) were identified. Among these, five mammal and 18 bird species were recognised as hosts. Aedes mosquitoes exclusively fed on mammals, while Culex mosquitoes exhibited a broader host range including both birds and mammals. In AMBA, the open green environments were composed by more mosquito species than the domestic environments, while both presented similar numbers of vertebrate species. In contrast, in open green environments from Tandil only blood-fed Aedes albifasciatus were collected. For open green environments of AMBA and domestic environments of Tandil, results suggested some degree of host selection. For the three main vectors of diseases in the region, Aedes aegypti, Ae. albifasciatus and Culex pipiens molestus, we present the first molecular evidence of human blood meals in South America. Epidemiological significance of the present findings is discussed.

Keywords

Aedes aegyptiAedes albifasciatusblood mealCulex pipiens complexhost-biting networkurban environments
Type
Research Paper
Information
Bulletin of Entomological Research , Volume 114 , Issue 1 , February 2024 , pp. 30 - 40
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press

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