Outdoor Resting and Sugar Feeding Behaviors of African Malaria Vectors

描述（由申请人提供）：本项目的重点是在马里，西非，疟疾是一个严重的公共卫生问题，疟疾病媒按蚊种群的户外休息和喂糖行为。了解蚊子在室外环境中的行为变得越来越重要，因为人们越来越认识到，要成功控制疟疾和在当地消灭疟疾，需要使用室内专用的病媒控制工具。目前，对于非洲的主要疟疾媒介物种，冈比亚按蚊、冈比亚按蚊和冈比亚按蚊。arabiensis，和一枝枝兰（An.然而，由于缺乏实地证据，对它们的户外休息行为只有有限的了解，并且糖或花蜜在它们的生活史中的作用主要是推测的。此外，休息和喂糖行为可能表现出广泛的表型可塑性，但生态环境作为可能的关键驱动因素的作用尚未得到研究。因此，本项目的目标是在马里生态多样的地点调查按蚊的户外休息和喂糖行为，以确定这些行为与季节性变化的当地环境之间的复杂关系如何影响疟疾传播。将在马里的10个研究地点进行实地研究，这些地点位于撒哈拉以南萨赫勒地区的3个主要生态气候带。在病媒种群、季节性恶性疟原虫传播和疟疾流行病学方面，研究领域已经有了很好的特点。该项目以在马里和以色列进行的广泛初步研究为基础，包括三个具体目标：1）描述疟疾病媒物种如何从不同类型、配置和质量的潜在户外休息微生境和喂糖中心中选择，并在行为上适应当地环境的季节性变化~ 2）确定当地环境资源对疟疾病媒的户外休息和吃糖至关重要，如何影响疟疾病媒的能力和疟原虫传播的空间聚集模式~和3）制定和评估新的方法和基于实地的标准，以确定室外环境中成年按蚊的浓度。创新方面包括：首先，新的基于现场的方法将被用来调查两个重要的，但高度被忽视的蚊子行为，其次，这是第一个研究蚊子如何适应他们的户外休息和糖喂养行为，以应对当地环境的季节变化。第三，本项目将解释户外休息和喂糖行为如何影响病媒生存和疟原虫传播动态。第四，将对用于确定疟疾病媒集中的新预测模型进行严格的实地测试 并加以完善，以提高其准确性和马里以外的潜在效用。通过为开发室外环境中按蚊病媒控制的新方法和工具提供强有力的科学依据，该项目具有帮助马里和其他国家改善疟疾控制并朝着消灭疟疾的最终目标前进的强大潜力。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This project focuses on the outdoor resting and sugar-feeding behaviors of Anopheles malaria vector populations in Mali, West Africa, where, as in most African countries, malaria is a serious public health problem. An understanding of mosquito behaviors in the outdoor environment is becoming increasingly important because there is a growing awareness that vector control tools beyond those used exclusively inside houses are needed to achieve successful malaria control and local elimination. Currently, for the major malaria vector species in Africa, Anopheles gambiae, An. arabiensis, and An. funestus, there is only limited knowledge on their outdoor resting behavior, and the role of sugar or nectars in their life history is mostly speculated due to a lack of field-based evidence. Furthermore, resting and sugar feeding behaviors likely exhibit extensive phenotypic plasticity but the role of the ecological environment as the possible key driver has not been investigated. Therefore, the goal of this project is to investigate Anopheles mosquito outdoor resting and sugar- feeding behaviors at ecologically diverse sites in Mali to determine how complex relationships between these behaviors and the seasonally changing local environment affect malaria transmission. Field studies in Mali will be conducted at 10 study sites located in 3 major eco-climatic zones that span the sub-Saharan Sahel region. Study areas are already well characterized with respect to vector populations, seasonal Plasmodium falciparum transmission, and malaria epidemiology. This project, which builds on extensive preliminary studies in Mali and Israel, includes three specific aims: 1) Characterize how malaria vector species select from different types, configurations, and qualities of potential outdoor resting microhabitats and sugar-feeding centers, and behaviorally adapt to seasonal changes in their local environment~ 2) Determine how local environmental resources critical for malaria vector outdoor resting and sugar feeding affect malaria vectorial capacity and spatial aggregation patterns of malaria parasite transmission~ and 3) Develop and evaluate new approaches and field-based criteria to identify concentrations of adult anopheline mosquitoes in the outdoor environment. Innovative aspects include: First, new field-based approaches will be used to investigate two important but highly neglected mosquito behaviors, Second, this is the first study to examine how mosquitoes adapt their outdoor-resting and sugar-feeding behaviors in response to seasonal changes in their local environment. Third, this project will explain how outdoor-resting and sugar-feeding behaviors impact vector survival and malaria parasite transmission dynamics. Fourth, new predictive models for identifying concentrations of malaria vectors will be rigorously field-tested and refined to improve their accuracy and potential utility beyond Mali. By providing a strong scientific basis for development of new approaches and tools for anopheline mosquito vector control in outdoor environments, this project has strong potential for helping Mali and other countries improve malaria control and advance toward the ultimate goal of elimination.