Objective
It is proposed (1) to study the principle cues that mosquitoes use to identify a (human cost); (2) to analyze how these cues guide mosquitoes to the host and (3) to determine the effects of insecticides on host-seeking behaviour. The target insect will be Anopheles gambiae, but work on other malaria mosquitoes and on Culex quinquefasciatus will be included as well. This will involve a continuous interaction between experiments in the field (Tanzania) and the laboratory (several institutes in Europe). In the field work will concentrate on house entry, host-allocation and landing behaviour of mosquitoes with the use of remote controlled infra-red sensitive video recordings. The study will be done in experimental huts and with constant pairs of hosts. In the laboratory mosquito behaviour during exposure to host odours and other host emanated cues will be investigated. This work will be done in climitically controlled windtunnels with video recording. Host-odours will be collected on adsorbents and subjected to chemical analysis using GC-MS. Fractions of odours or single compounds will be investigated on the mosquitoes response, first in the windtunnel and if found of interest, in the field. It is expected that at the end of the study several cues with which the behaviour of the mosquitoes can be manipulated will have been identified. The study will also investigate the effect of insecticides, placed on walls or mosquito nets, on mosquito behaviour in order to answer questions concerning the suppose changes in behaviour caused by such insecticides as permethrin, deltamethrin, malathion and DDT.
Fields of science
Topic(s)
Data not availableCall for proposal
Data not availableFunding Scheme
CSC - Cost-sharing contractsCoordinator
6700 EH WAGENINGEN
Netherlands