Blood‐feeding ecology of mosquitoes in zoos

Abstract

To determine if the unique host assemblages in zoos influence blood-feeding by mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae), a sampling programme was conducted in Greenville and Riverbanks Zoos, South Carolina, U.S.A., from April 2009 to October 2010. A total of 4355 female mosquitoes of 14 species were collected, of which 106 individuals of nine species were blood-fed. The most common taxa were Aedes albopictus (Skuse), Aedes triseriatus (Say), Anopheles punctipennis (Say), Culex erraticus (Dyar & Knab), Culex pipiens complex (L.) and Culex restuans (Theobald). Molecular analyses (cytochrome b) of bloodmeals revealed that mosquitoes fed on captive animals, humans and wildlife, and took mixed bloodmeals. Host species included one amphibian, 16 birds, 10 mammals (including humans) and two reptiles. Minimum dispersal distances after feeding on captive hosts ranged from 15.5 m to 327.0 m. Mosquito-host associations generally conformed to previous accounts, indicating that mosquito behaviour inside zoos reflects that outside zoos. However, novel variation in host use, including new, exotic host records, warrants further investigation. Zoos, thus, can be used as experiment environments in which to study mosquito behaviour, and the findings extrapolated to non-zoo areas, while providing medical and veterinary benefits to zoo animals, employees and patrons.

Project MOSI: rationale and pilot‐study results of an initiative to help protect zoo animals from mosquito‐transmitted pathogens and contribute data on mosquito spatio–temporal distribution change

“…Indeed, there already is a considerable record of zoofocused mosquito study (e.g. Beier & Trpis,1981;Nolen, 2001; Derraik, 2004a,b;McGowan, 2004;Sano et al, 2005;Nelder, 2007;Adler et al, 2011;Ejiri et al, 2011;Tuten, 2011a;Tuten 2011b;Tuten et al, 2012). However, the potential of national, regional and global-level zoo networks to contribute to mosquito-monitoring efforts remains largely unutilized.…”

“…However, a substantial body of publications and health-agency reports highlights the significance of climate change on vector-borne diseases (Kurane, 2010;Eastwood et al, 2011;Guis et al, 2012;Gallana et al, change. In the context of mosquito research, many zoos have the potential to provide valuable mosquito-monitoring and research opportunities This is largely due to the combination of novel species assemblages that zoos and similar facilities maintain, and the diverse range of microhabitats and shelters suitable for mosquito breeding and overwintering (Adler et al, 2011;Nelder, 2007;Tuten, 2011a;Tuten 2011b;Tuten et al, 2012). Such environments can attract and maintain a wide range of mosquitoes, allowing them to be detected and studied.…”

“…Zoos and similar facilities often maintain a variety of species outside their natural range areas. Such circumstances can expose naïve or susceptible species to new pathogens, including pathogens native to the local area of the zoo (Adler et al, 2011;Tuten, 2011a;Tuten 2011b;Tuten et al, 2012). Most zoo animals are routinely monitored for signs of illness and new acquisitions are quarantined.…”

“…Monitoring and surveillance are key to obtaining such information, and enabling appropriate vector and disease control measures to be taken (Adler et al, 2011;Tuten 2011a;Tuten et al, 2012; World Health Organization, 2012, 2013a, especially when increasing changes in environmental conditions (Barnosky et al, 2012;Hansen et al, 2013) are considered.…”

“…However, as mosquitoes may not be excluded from quarantine animals it is feasible that diseases could be acquired by mosquitoes that have blood fed on already infected animals and carried to other hosts (Tuten 2011b). These considerations make zoos valuable health-surveillance sites (Nelder, 2007;Adler et al, 2011;Tuten 2011b;Tuten et al, 2012) for monitoring native mosquito activity and for detecting non-native mosquito introductions (Ejiri et al, 2011;Tuten, 2011a). The diverse range of species found in most zoos and their relatively close proximity to each other also make zoos valuable places to study the biting behaviour and feeding preferences of mosquitoes (Ejiri et al, 2011;Tuten 2011b;Tuten et al, 2012).…”