Larval ecology of African malaria vectors

这项研究的重点是非洲疟疾媒介的幼虫生态，这是疟疾研究的一个新领域。由于冈比亚按蚊复合体物种分子鉴定方面的技术进步、利用微卫星标记研究蚊子种群遗传学、将地理信息系统和遥感应用于医学昆虫学和疟疾流行病学、预测昆虫种群动态的建模方面的进展以及现代昆虫控制技术，现在有可能解决有关非洲按蚊幼虫阶段生物学的重要基本问题。在肯尼亚进行实地研究，以确定环境因素调节幼虫阶段蚊子动态的机制，将为解释成年蚊子种群的空间和时间动态以及恶性疟原虫向人类传播的模式提供新的见解。有三个具体目标：1)通过对按蚊幼虫栖息地的区级实地研究，确定控制疟疾媒介和恶性疟原虫传播的空间和时间分布的关键环境决定因素。2)通过村级纵向实地研究，确定气候对按蚊幼虫种群动态、成蚊生产、成蚊行为和恶性疟原虫向人类传播之间的关系的影响；3)通过开展有当地社区参与的小规模试点控制项目，开发控制按蚊幼虫种群的新方法。这项研究的结果将包括可以在社区一级应用于抗击疟疾的更好的蚊子控制方法。

This research focuses on the larval ecology of African malaria vectors, a ne3glected area of malaria research. As a result of technological advances in the molecular identification of species in the Anopheles gambiae complex, the use microsatellite markers to study mosquito population genetics, the use of Geographic Information Systems and remote sensing as applied to medical entomology and malaria epidemiology, advances in modeling to predict insect population dynamics, and modern insect control technologies, it is now possible to address important basic questions about larval-stage biology of anopheline mosquitos in Africa. Field studies in Kenya to identify the mechanisms by which environmental factors regulate the dynamics of larval-stage mosquitoes will provide new insights for explaining the spatial and temporal dynamics of adult mosquito populations and patterns of Plasmodium falciparum transmission to humans. There are 3 specific aims: 1) to determine through district-level field studies of Anopheles larval habitats the key environmental determinants regulating the spatial and temporal distributions of malaria vectors and Plasmodium falciparum transmission. 2) to determine through longitudinal village-level field studies the impact of climate on relationships between the dynamics of larval populations of Anopheles, the production of adult mosquitoes, the behavior of adult mosquitoes, and the transmission of plasmodium falciparum malaria to humans and 3) to develop new approaches for the control of larval populations of Anopheles mosquitoes by conducting small-scale pilot control projects that involve local communities are organizers and participants. The outcome of this research will include better methods for mosquito control that can be applied at the community level to fight malaria.