Blood feeding patterns of mosquitoes: random or structured?

ABSTRACT:

Background

The foraging behavior of blood-sucking arthropods is the defining biological event shaping the transmission cycle of vector-borne parasites. It is also a phenomenon that pertains to the realm of community ecology, since blood-feeding patterns of vectors can occur across a community of vertebrate hosts. Although great advances in knowledge of the genetic basis for blood-feeding choices have been reported for selected vector species, little is known about the role of community composition of vertebrate hosts in determining such patterns.

Methods & results

Here, we present an analysis of feeding patterns of vectors across a variety of locations, looking at foraging patterns of communities of mosquitoes, across communities of hosts primarily comprised of mammals and b

SUBMITTER: Chaves LF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2826349 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature