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Avian phenotypic traits related to feeding preferences in two Culex mosquitoes

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Abstract

Host choice by mosquitoes affects the transmission dynamics of vector-borne infectious diseases. Although asymmetries in mosquito attraction to vertebrate species have been reported, the relative importance of host characteristics in mosquito blood-feeding behavior is still poorly studied. Here, we investigate the relationship between avian phenotypic traits—in particular, morphometry, plumage coloration, and nesting and roosting behavior—and the blood-feeding patterns in two common Culex mosquito species on a North American avian community. Forage ratios of the mosquito species were unrelated to the phylogenetic relationships among bird species. Culex pipiens fed preferably on birds with lighter-colored plumage and longer tarsi; furthermore, solitary roosting avian species were both bitten by Cx. pipiens and Cx. restuans more often than expected. These associations may be explained by greater mosquito attraction towards larger birds with a greater color contrast against the background. Although communally roosting birds may release more cues and attract more mosquitoes, individuals may in fact receive fewer bites due to the encounter-dilution effect. Mosquito feeding behavior is a highly complex phenomenon, and our results may improve understanding of the non-random interaction between birds and mosquitoes in natural communities.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to GL Hamer, UD Kitron, TL Goldberg, JD Brawn, SR Loss, MO Ruiz, DB Hayes, and ED Walker for publishing the FR data used in their paper. We thank the four anonymous reviewers whose comments helped improve earlier drafts of the manuscript.

Funding information

This study was funded by the projects CGL2012-30759 and CGL2015-65055-P from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER). JY was supported by the State Scholarship Fund from the China Scholarship Council, LG by a contract from the Excellence Projects of the Junta de Andalucía (RNM-7800), and JMP by the Juan de la Cierva program.

Author contributions

J.Y. conducted the literature review, carried out the analyses, and drafted a first version of the manuscript; L.G. coordinated the analyses and helped collect data and draft the manuscript; J.M.P. helped collect data and draft the manuscript; R.S. coordinated and designed the study; J.F. coordinated and designed the study, and helped in manuscript drafting. All authors have given their approval for publication.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Wetland Ecology, Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC), Avda. Américo Vespucio 26, 41092, Seville, Spain

    Jiayue Yan, Laura Gangoso, Josué Martínez-de la Puente & Jordi Figuerola

  2. CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBEResp), Seville, Spain

    Josué Martínez-de la Puente, Ramón Soriguer & Jordi Figuerola

  3. Department of Ethology and Biodiversity Conservation, Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC), Seville, Spain

    Ramón Soriguer

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  1. Jiayue Yan
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  2. Laura Gangoso
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Correspondence to Jiayue Yan.

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Communicated by: Pamela C. Rasmussen

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Table S1

Phenotypic attributes for the 49 avian species included in this study. The forage ratio is given for mosquitoes of the species Cx. pipiens and Cx. restuans. Abbreviations used: Mass: body mass (g); Tarsus: tarsus length (mm); Bill: bill length (mm); Phac: the percentage of highly attractive colors; Pmac: the percentage of moderately attractive colors; Psac: the percentage of slightly attractive colors; Roosting: roosting behavior (C-communal, S-solitary); Nest: nest type (C-close cup, H-hole or cavity-nester, O-open cup/nest); Cx. pipiens: forage ratio for Cx. pipiens; Cx. restuans: forage ratio for Cx. restuans. (DOC 123 kb)

Fig S1

Consensus trees obtained from 1000 trees generated on BirdTree ( http://birdtree.org ). The trees generated by adopting a 50% majority-rule consensus tree (SumTrees 3.3.1 in DendroPy 3.12.2) using the code described by Rubolini et al. (2015 Curr Zool 61). Working phylogenies for PGLS analyses included a) 49 avian species with the estimated forage ratio for Cx. pipiens; b) 44 avian species with the estimated forage ratio for Cx. restuans. (GIF 45 kb)

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Table S2

Summary statistics of the averaged model derived from the set of top GLM models (∆i(AICc) < 2) explaining variation in the feeding patterns of Cx. pipiens after omitting two raptor species. (DOC 31 kb)

Table S3

Summary statistics of the averaged model derived from the set of top GLM models (∆i(AICc) < 2) explaining variation in the feeding patterns of Cx. pipiens derived from gravid trap. (DOC 32 kb)

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Yan, J., Gangoso, L., Martínez-de la Puente, J. et al. Avian phenotypic traits related to feeding preferences in two Culex mosquitoes. Sci Nat 104, 76 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-017-1497-x

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