Body size and hosts of Triatoma infestans populations affect the size of bloodmeal contents and female fecundity in rural northwestern Argentina.

ABSTRACT: Human sleeping quarters (domiciles) and chicken coops are key source habitats of Triatoma infestans-the principal vector of the infection that causes Chagas disease-in rural communities in northern Argentina. Here we investigated the links among individual bug bloodmeal contents (BMC, mg), female fecundity, body length (L, mm), host blood sources and habitats. We tested whether L, habitat and host blood conferred relative fitness advantages using generalized linear mixed-effects models and a multimodel inference approach with model averaging. The data analyzed include 769 late-stage triatomines collected in 120 sites from six habitats in 87 houses in Figueroa, Santiago del Estero, during austral spring. L correlated positively with other body-size surrogates and was modified by habitat typ

SUBMITTER: Gurtler RE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5734792 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature