Attraction of Culex pipiens to House Sparrows Is Influenced by Host Age but Not Uropygial Gland Secretions

Attraction of Culex pipiens to House Sparrows Is Influenced by Host Age but Not Uropygial Gland Secretions

serves as the endemic vector of West Nile virus (WNV) in eastern North America, where house sparrows (HOSP, ) serve as a reservoir host. We tested the hypotheses that: (1) Attraction of to HOSP is influenced by bird age and (2) that age-specific variation in chemical profiles of bird uropygial gland...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Insects (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 9; no. 4; p. 127
Main Authors: Garvin, Mary C, Austin, Amy, Boyer, Kevin, Gefke, Madeleine, Wright, Celestina, Pryor, Yemko, Soble, Anah, Whelan, Rebecca J
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 25-09-2018
MDPI
Subjects:
Adults
Age
Aquatic insects
Attraction
behavior
Bioassays
Birds
chemical biology
Chemical stimuli
Chromatography
College campuses
Culex pipiens
ecology
Gas chromatography
Hypotheses
Juveniles
Mass spectrometry
Mass spectroscopy
Molecular weight
Mosquitoes
Preferences
Principal components analysis
Secretions
Uropygial gland
Vector-borne diseases
West Nile virus
United States > US
mosquitoes
ecology
chemical biology
behavior
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Summary:serves as the endemic vector of West Nile virus (WNV) in eastern North America, where house sparrows (HOSP, ) serve as a reservoir host. We tested the hypotheses that: (1) Attraction of to HOSP is influenced by bird age and (2) that age-specific variation in chemical profiles of bird uropygial gland secretions informs this choice. We conducted mosquito choice trials in an olfactometer and found that were more often attracted to adult sparrows over nestlings, however, they demonstrated no preference for adults over fledglings. Using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry we observed age-specific differences in the semi-volatile chemical profiles of house sparrow uropygial gland secretions. Contrary to our hypothesis, we found no significant difference in mosquito feeding preference between the secretions of adults and those of either nestlings or fledglings. We suggest that other chemical cues influence the feeding preference of , either independently of uropygial gland secretions, or synergistically with them.
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SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
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ISSN:2075-4450
2075-4450
DOI:10.3390/insects9040127