Host preferences of ornithophilic biting midges of the genus <i>Culicoides</i> in the Eastern Balkans

Bobeva, Aneliya; Zehtindjiev, Pavel; Ilieva, Mihaela; Dimitrov, Dimitar; Mathis, Alexander; Bensch, Staffan

doi:10.1111/mve.12108

Cited by 36 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 30 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Our experimental species C. nubeculosus is considered to be mammalophilic, feeding on a large spectrum of mammals [28]; however, the species that we have found naturally infected with avian trypanosomes have repeatedly been found to feed on birds, and are considered ornithophilic or at least opportunistic [29–31]. The findings of midges infected with avian trypanosomes further confirm not only their association with avian hosts but also their potential to function in the transmission cycle.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 59%

Biting midges (Ceratopogonidae) as vectors of avian trypanosomes

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundAlthough avian trypanosomes are widespread parasites, the knowledge of their vectors is still incomplete. Despite biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) are considered as potential vectors of avian trypanosomes, their role in transmission has not been satisfactorily elucidated. Our aim was to clarify the potential of biting midges to sustain the development of avian trypanosomes by testing their susceptibility to different strains of avian trypanosomes experimentally. Moreover, we screened biting midges for natural infections in the wild.ResultsLaboratory-bred biting midges Culicoides nubeculosus were highly susceptible to trypanosomes from the Trypanosoma bennetti and T. avium clades. Infection rates reached 100%, heavy infections developed in 55–87% of blood-fed females. Parasite stages from the insect gut were infective for birds. Moreover, midges could be infected after feeding on a trypanosome-positive bird. Avian trypanosomes can thus complete their cycle in birds and biting midges. Furthermore, we succeeded to find infected blood meal-free biting midges in the wild.ConclusionsBiting midges are probable vectors of avian trypanosomes belonging to T. bennetti group. Midges are highly susceptible to artificial infections, can be infected after feeding on birds, and T. bennetti-infected biting midges (Culicoides spp.) have been found in nature. Moreover, midges can be used as model hosts producing metacyclic avian trypanosome stages infective for avian hosts.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 59%

Biting midges (Ceratopogonidae) as vectors of avian trypanosomes

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This hypothesis adds to the growing need for future studies of haematozoan vectors (Clark, Clegg & Lima ; Bobeva et al . ; Žiegyt≐ & Valkiūnas ; Bernotien≐ & Valkiūnas ). In addition to environmental effects, a surprising finding was the negative influence of Zosterops spp.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Co‐infections and environmental conditions drive the distributions of blood parasites in wild birds

Clark

Wells

Dimitrov

et al. 2016

Journal of Animal Ecology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Summary 1.Experimental work increasingly suggests that non-random pathogen associations can affect the spread or severity of disease. Yet due to difficulties distinguishing and interpreting co-infections, evidence for the presence and directionality of pathogen co-occurrences in wildlife is rudimentary. 2. We provide empirical evidence for pathogen co-occurrences by analysing infection matrices for avian malaria (Haemoproteus and Plasmodium spp.) and parasitic filarial nematodes (microfilariae) in wild birds (New Caledonian Zosterops spp.). 3. Using visual and genus-specific molecular parasite screening, we identified high levels of co-infections that would have been missed using PCR alone. Avian malaria lineages were assigned to species level using morphological descriptions. We estimated parasite co-occurrence probabilities, while accounting for environmental predictors, in a hierarchical multivariate logistic regression. 4. Co-infections occurred in 36% of infected birds. We identified both positively and negatively correlated parasite co-occurrence probabilities when accounting for host, habitat and island effects. Two of three pairwise avian malaria co-occurrences were strongly negative, despite each malaria parasite occurring across all islands and habitats. Birds with microfilariae had elevated heterophil to lymphocyte ratios and were all co-infected with avian malaria, consistent with evidence that host immune modulation by parasitic nematodes facilitates malaria co-infections. Importantly, co-occurrence patterns with microfilariae varied in direction among avian malaria species; two malaria parasites correlated positively but a third correlated negatively with microfilariae. 5. We show that wildlife co-infections are frequent, possibly affecting infection rates through competition or facilitation. We argue that combining multiple diagnostic screening methods with multivariate logistic regression offers a platform to disentangle impacts of environmental factors and parasite co-occurrences on wildlife disease.

show abstract

“…Rawlings et al ., ; Bartsch et al ., ; Garros et al ., ; Lassen et al ., ; Ninio et al ., ; Viennet et al ., ; Calvo et al ., ; Pettersson et al ., ). Only recently have some studies been performed in natural ecosystems (Santiago‐Alarcon et al ., ; Bobeva et al ., ), and to the best of our knowledge none of them was carried out in natural areas with an important presence of wild ruminants. While some studies have inferred Culicoides host preferences based on the morphology of the sensory organs present in the antennae and the palps (Blackwell, ), direct evidence is needed to be sure of the food source of a particular species.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, these methods allowed the identification of a limited number of potential vertebrate host species. Recently, molecular techniques have been developed, which have increased the accuracy of host identification at the species level (Votypka et al ., ; Bobeva et al ., ; Martínez‐de la Puente et al ., ; Slama et al ., ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Revealing potential bridge vectors forBTVandSBV: a study onCulicoidesblood feeding preferences in natural ecosystems inSpain

Talavera

Muñoz‐Muñoz

Verdún

et al. 2017

Medical Vet Entomology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. Several species of Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) are vectors of pathogens, such as the bluetongue (BTV) and Schmallenberg (SBV) viruses, which cause important diseases in domestic and wild ruminants. As wild ruminants can contribute to overwintering and epizootics of both diseases, knowledge of the host-feeding behaviour of Culicoides in natural ecosystems is important to better understand their epidemiology. Blood-engorged Culicoides females trapped in natural areas inhabited by different wild ruminant species were genetically analysed to identify host species. The origin of bloodmeals was identified in 114 females of 14 species of Culicoides. A total of 104 (91.1%) Culicoides fed on mammals and 10 (8.9%) on birds. The most abundant host identified was red deer (66.7%), followed by humans (13%) and fallow deer (6.1%). Eleven of the 14 species of Culicoides fed exclusively on mammalian hosts. Among them, five are mammalophilic species considered to be important BTV and/or SBV vectors. The results of the present study confirm that Culicoides imicola, Culicoides obsoletus, Culicoides scoticus, Culicoides pulicaris and Culicoides punctatus fed on wild ruminants, and therefore support the hypothesis that these species can act as bridge vectors by facilitating the circulation of pathogens between wild and domestic ruminant communities.

show abstract

Host preferences of ornithophilic biting midges of the genus Culicoides in the Eastern Balkans

Cited by 36 publications

References 30 publications

Biting midges (Ceratopogonidae) as vectors of avian trypanosomes

Biting midges (Ceratopogonidae) as vectors of avian trypanosomes

Co‐infections and environmental conditions drive the distributions of blood parasites in wild birds

Revealing potential bridge vectors forBTVandSBV: a study onCulicoidesblood feeding preferences in natural ecosystems inSpain

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About