Mosquito blood-feeding patterns and nesting behavior of American crows, an amplifying host of West Nile virus.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Although American crows are a key indicator species for West Nile virus (WNV) and mount among the highest viremias reported for any host, the importance of crows in the WNV transmission cycle has been called into question because of their consistent underrepresentation in studies of Culex blood meal sources. Here, we test the hypothesis that this apparent underrepresentation could be due, in part, to underrepresentation of crow nesting habitat from mosquito sampling designs. Specifically, we examine how the likelihood of a crow blood meal changes with distance to and timing of active crow nests in a Davis, California, population.

Methods

Sixty artificial mosquito resting sites were deployed from May to September 2014 in varying proximity to known crow nesting site

SUBMITTER: Wheeler SS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8220764 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature