Systematics, Behavioural Ecology and Disease Transmission of Biting Diptera

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My students and I will study three families of biting flies, namely, the black flies, the mosquitoes and the biting midges (also known as "no-see-ums" or "ceratopogonids").  As medical and veterinary entomologists, we are interested in biting flies that are potential vectors of animal and human diseases and aim to understand (a) phylogenetic (historical) relationships among the taxa, (b) behavioural ecology of these flies and (c) disease transmission.  ***(a) In the next granting cycle, we will study taxonomic relationships within the mosquito genus Culiseta, and within the family Ceratopogonidae.  Due to their small size, ceratopogonids are often ignored but they can be important vectors of disease. We have recently discovered that a ceratopogonid species (Culicoides sonorensis) is found in Ontario, and we intend to assess its distribution. ***(b) We will study the sugar-feeding and blood-feeding host preferences of black flies and mosquitoes. In the area of sugar-feeding, we are trying to determine why so many of the biting flies switched from their ancestral sugar-meal, aphid honeydew, to feeding on floral nectar, especially because honeydew seems to be the better meal in terms of flight performance and protecting mosquitoes from infections. Blood-feeding host preferences are important to understand so that we know which species are likely vectors of new emerging vector-borne diseases.  ***(c) We have a State-of-the-Art Containment Level 3 (CL3) laboratory with insectary where we can work with live, infected mosquitoes.  We are conducting experiments on West Nile virus-infected mosquitoes to determine the vector competence of ~12 species that have tested positive for West Nile virus.  Furthermore, we are trying to determine why some mosquitoes are poor vectors and others are good vectors. In the future, we also intend to test ceratopogonid species for vector competence of Bluetongue virus, a deadly livestock disease.***Work in my lab involves a combination of field research (collecting the biting flies of interest), laboratory rearing of various vector species, morphological identification of different species, molecular barcoding and vector competence studies.**