To test for the effects of host accessibility on blood-feeding behavior, we assessed degrees of anthropophily of the malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae at two stages of the behavioral sequence of host foraging, in a rice growing area near Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, where humans are not readily accessible because of years of generalized use of (mostly non-impregnated) bed nets. First, patterns of host selection were assessed by the identification of the blood meal origin of indoor-resting samples. Inherent host preferences were then determined by two odor-baited entry traps, set side by side in a choice arrangement, releasing either human or calf odor. The proportion of feeds taken on humans was around 40%, whereas 88% of trapped An. gambiae "chose" the human-baited trap, indicating a zoophilic pattern of host selection despite a stronger trap entry response with human odor. This paradox can be interpreted as the evolution of a plastic strategy of feeding behavior in this field population of An. gambiae because of the greater accessibility of readily available, although less-preferred, hosts. Copyright ©2009 by The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.
CITATION STYLE
Lefèvre, T., Gouagna, L. C., Dabiré, K. R., Elguero, E., Fontenille, D., Renaud, F., … Thomas, F. (2009). Beyond nature and nurture: Phenotypic plasticity in blood-feeding behavior of Anopheles gambiae s.s. when humans are not readily accessible. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 81(6), 1023–1029. https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.2009.09-0124
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