No Cover Image

Journal article 436 views 132 downloads

Diversity and Plasticity in Mosquito Feeding Patterns: A Meta‐Analysis of ‘Universal’ DNA Diet Studies

Meshach Lee, Richard O'Rorke Orcid Logo, Nicholas J. Clark Orcid Logo, Tamsyn Uren Webster Orcid Logo, Konstans Wells Orcid Logo

Global Ecology and Biogeography, Volume: 34, Issue: 6, Start page: e70077

Swansea University Authors: Tamsyn Uren Webster Orcid Logo, Konstans Wells Orcid Logo

  • 69740.VOR.pdf

    PDF | Version of Record

    © 2025 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY).

    Download (1.34MB)

Check full text

DOI (Published version): 10.1111/geb.70077

Abstract

Although mosquitoes can have innate preferences for particular blood-meal hosts, their realised feeding patterns on different host species can be modified under climate and land use change with implications for disease spread. Therefore, it is important to understand the niche breadth of vectors and...

Full description

Published in: Global Ecology and Biogeography
ISSN: 1466-822X 1466-8238
Published: Wiley 2025
Online Access: Check full text

URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa69740
first_indexed 2025-06-16T10:11:58Z
last_indexed 2025-06-28T07:57:39Z
id cronfa69740
recordtype SURis
fullrecord <?xml version="1.0"?><rfc1807 xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"><datestamp>2025-06-27T13:50:30.2781832</datestamp><bib-version>v2</bib-version><id>69740</id><entry>2025-06-16</entry><title>Diversity and Plasticity in Mosquito Feeding Patterns: A Meta&#x2010;Analysis of &#x2018;Universal&#x2019; DNA Diet Studies</title><swanseaauthors><author><sid>3ea91c154926c86f89ea6a761122ecf6</sid><ORCID>0000-0002-0072-9745</ORCID><firstname>Tamsyn</firstname><surname>Uren Webster</surname><name>Tamsyn Uren Webster</name><active>true</active><ethesisStudent>false</ethesisStudent></author><author><sid>d18166c31e89833c55ef0f2cbb551243</sid><ORCID>0000-0003-0377-2463</ORCID><firstname>Konstans</firstname><surname>Wells</surname><name>Konstans Wells</name><active>true</active><ethesisStudent>false</ethesisStudent></author></swanseaauthors><date>2025-06-16</date><deptcode>BGPS</deptcode><abstract>Although mosquitoes can have innate preferences for particular blood-meal hosts, their realised feeding patterns on different host species can be modified under climate and land use change with implications for disease spread. Therefore, it is important to understand the niche breadth of vectors and the extent to which shifts in feeding patterns can be predicted. Six prominent disease-vectoring mosquitoes: Aedes aegypti, Ae. albopictus, Anopheles funestus, An. gambiae, Culex pipiens, Cx. quinquefasciatus. Focusing on blood-meal studies that used &#x2018;universal&#x2019; molecular methods with broad taxonomic coverage, we compiled evidence from &gt;&#x2009;15,600 blood-meals. We estimated mosquito's host niche breadth and we used hierarchical Dirichlet regression models to investigate shifts in feeding patterns among different functional and taxonomic groups of host species in relation to host and environmental factors. We estimated host ranges of 179&#x2013;321 species for each of the two Culex mosquitoes and 26&#x2013;65 species for Aedes mosquitoes, comprising considerably broader host niche breadths than previously anticipated. For the two Anopheles species, we estimated host ranges of 7&#x2013;29 species. We found some evidence that shifts in feeding patterns among different host functional and taxonomic groups were associated with environmental conditions such as temperature and livestock density, while our results also demonstrate that with the currently available evidence, global predictions of shifts in mosquito feeding patterns are impeded by significant uncertainty. Our global meta-analysis afforded first insights into the shifts of feeding patterns in variable environments, suggesting that host choice is not a simple function of host availability, but contingent on other environmental drivers. Improving resolution and consistency of data gathering and reporting will improve the precision of how blood-meal studies can inform us of present and potential risks of pathogen transmission events.</abstract><type>Journal Article</type><journal>Global Ecology and Biogeography</journal><volume>34</volume><journalNumber>6</journalNumber><paginationStart>e70077</paginationStart><paginationEnd/><publisher>Wiley</publisher><placeOfPublication/><isbnPrint/><isbnElectronic/><issnPrint>1466-822X</issnPrint><issnElectronic>1466-8238</issnElectronic><keywords>Aedes, Anopheles, blood-meal analysis, Culex, diet compositional analysis, host selection, metabarcoding, mosquito feeding patterns, vector-borne diseases</keywords><publishedDay>19</publishedDay><publishedMonth>6</publishedMonth><publishedYear>2025</publishedYear><publishedDate>2025-06-19</publishedDate><doi>10.1111/geb.70077</doi><url/><notes>Meta-analysis</notes><college>COLLEGE NANME</college><department>Biosciences Geography and Physics School</department><CollegeCode>COLLEGE CODE</CollegeCode><DepartmentCode>BGPS</DepartmentCode><institution>Swansea University</institution><apcterm>SU Library paid the OA fee (TA Institutional Deal)</apcterm><funders>This work was supported by Australian Research Council (DE210101439), Royal Society (RGS\R2\222152).</funders><projectreference/><lastEdited>2025-06-27T13:50:30.2781832</lastEdited><Created>2025-06-16T11:06:38.4957681</Created><path><level id="1">Faculty of Science and Engineering</level><level id="2">School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences</level></path><authors><author><firstname>Meshach</firstname><surname>Lee</surname><order>1</order></author><author><firstname>Richard</firstname><surname>O'Rorke</surname><orcid>0000-0002-9304-2677</orcid><order>2</order></author><author><firstname>Nicholas J.</firstname><surname>Clark</surname><orcid>0000-0001-7131-3301</orcid><order>3</order></author><author><firstname>Tamsyn</firstname><surname>Uren Webster</surname><orcid>0000-0002-0072-9745</orcid><order>4</order></author><author><firstname>Konstans</firstname><surname>Wells</surname><orcid>0000-0003-0377-2463</orcid><order>5</order></author></authors><documents><document><filename>69740__34614__9d0ca3c8f14f46ff820d7a6ba7cd6433.pdf</filename><originalFilename>69740.VOR.pdf</originalFilename><uploaded>2025-06-27T13:46:51.8682516</uploaded><type>Output</type><contentLength>1407560</contentLength><contentType>application/pdf</contentType><version>Version of Record</version><cronfaStatus>true</cronfaStatus><documentNotes>&#xA9; 2025 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY).</documentNotes><copyrightCorrect>true</copyrightCorrect><language>eng</language><licence>http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</licence></document></documents><OutputDurs><OutputDur><Id>325</Id><DataControllerName>Konstans Wells</DataControllerName><DataControllerOrcid>0000-0003-0377-2463</DataControllerOrcid><DataControllerEmail>k.l.wells@swansea.ac.uk</DataControllerEmail><IsDataAvailableOnline>true</IsDataAvailableOnline><DataNotAvailableOnlineReasonId xsi:nil="true"/><DurUrl>https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.18931zd70</DurUrl><IsDurRestrictions>false</IsDurRestrictions><DurRestrictionReasonId xsi:nil="true"/><DurEmbargoDate xsi:nil="true"/></OutputDur></OutputDurs></rfc1807>
spelling 2025-06-27T13:50:30.2781832 v2 69740 2025-06-16 Diversity and Plasticity in Mosquito Feeding Patterns: A Meta‐Analysis of ‘Universal’ DNA Diet Studies 3ea91c154926c86f89ea6a761122ecf6 0000-0002-0072-9745 Tamsyn Uren Webster Tamsyn Uren Webster true false d18166c31e89833c55ef0f2cbb551243 0000-0003-0377-2463 Konstans Wells Konstans Wells true false 2025-06-16 BGPS Although mosquitoes can have innate preferences for particular blood-meal hosts, their realised feeding patterns on different host species can be modified under climate and land use change with implications for disease spread. Therefore, it is important to understand the niche breadth of vectors and the extent to which shifts in feeding patterns can be predicted. Six prominent disease-vectoring mosquitoes: Aedes aegypti, Ae. albopictus, Anopheles funestus, An. gambiae, Culex pipiens, Cx. quinquefasciatus. Focusing on blood-meal studies that used ‘universal’ molecular methods with broad taxonomic coverage, we compiled evidence from > 15,600 blood-meals. We estimated mosquito's host niche breadth and we used hierarchical Dirichlet regression models to investigate shifts in feeding patterns among different functional and taxonomic groups of host species in relation to host and environmental factors. We estimated host ranges of 179–321 species for each of the two Culex mosquitoes and 26–65 species for Aedes mosquitoes, comprising considerably broader host niche breadths than previously anticipated. For the two Anopheles species, we estimated host ranges of 7–29 species. We found some evidence that shifts in feeding patterns among different host functional and taxonomic groups were associated with environmental conditions such as temperature and livestock density, while our results also demonstrate that with the currently available evidence, global predictions of shifts in mosquito feeding patterns are impeded by significant uncertainty. Our global meta-analysis afforded first insights into the shifts of feeding patterns in variable environments, suggesting that host choice is not a simple function of host availability, but contingent on other environmental drivers. Improving resolution and consistency of data gathering and reporting will improve the precision of how blood-meal studies can inform us of present and potential risks of pathogen transmission events. Journal Article Global Ecology and Biogeography 34 6 e70077 Wiley 1466-822X 1466-8238 Aedes, Anopheles, blood-meal analysis, Culex, diet compositional analysis, host selection, metabarcoding, mosquito feeding patterns, vector-borne diseases 19 6 2025 2025-06-19 10.1111/geb.70077 Meta-analysis COLLEGE NANME Biosciences Geography and Physics School COLLEGE CODE BGPS Swansea University SU Library paid the OA fee (TA Institutional Deal) This work was supported by Australian Research Council (DE210101439), Royal Society (RGS\R2\222152). 2025-06-27T13:50:30.2781832 2025-06-16T11:06:38.4957681 Faculty of Science and Engineering School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences Meshach Lee 1 Richard O'Rorke 0000-0002-9304-2677 2 Nicholas J. Clark 0000-0001-7131-3301 3 Tamsyn Uren Webster 0000-0002-0072-9745 4 Konstans Wells 0000-0003-0377-2463 5 69740__34614__9d0ca3c8f14f46ff820d7a6ba7cd6433.pdf 69740.VOR.pdf 2025-06-27T13:46:51.8682516 Output 1407560 application/pdf Version of Record true © 2025 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). true eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 325 Konstans Wells 0000-0003-0377-2463 k.l.wells@swansea.ac.uk true https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.18931zd70 false
title Diversity and Plasticity in Mosquito Feeding Patterns: A Meta‐Analysis of ‘Universal’ DNA Diet Studies
spellingShingle Diversity and Plasticity in Mosquito Feeding Patterns: A Meta‐Analysis of ‘Universal’ DNA Diet Studies
Tamsyn Uren Webster
Konstans Wells
title_short Diversity and Plasticity in Mosquito Feeding Patterns: A Meta‐Analysis of ‘Universal’ DNA Diet Studies
title_full Diversity and Plasticity in Mosquito Feeding Patterns: A Meta‐Analysis of ‘Universal’ DNA Diet Studies
title_fullStr Diversity and Plasticity in Mosquito Feeding Patterns: A Meta‐Analysis of ‘Universal’ DNA Diet Studies
title_full_unstemmed Diversity and Plasticity in Mosquito Feeding Patterns: A Meta‐Analysis of ‘Universal’ DNA Diet Studies
title_sort Diversity and Plasticity in Mosquito Feeding Patterns: A Meta‐Analysis of ‘Universal’ DNA Diet Studies
author_id_str_mv 3ea91c154926c86f89ea6a761122ecf6
d18166c31e89833c55ef0f2cbb551243
author_id_fullname_str_mv 3ea91c154926c86f89ea6a761122ecf6_***_Tamsyn Uren Webster
d18166c31e89833c55ef0f2cbb551243_***_Konstans Wells
author Tamsyn Uren Webster
Konstans Wells
author2 Meshach Lee
Richard O'Rorke
Nicholas J. Clark
Tamsyn Uren Webster
Konstans Wells
format Journal article
container_title Global Ecology and Biogeography
container_volume 34
container_issue 6
container_start_page e70077
publishDate 2025
institution Swansea University
issn 1466-822X
1466-8238
doi_str_mv 10.1111/geb.70077
publisher Wiley
college_str Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchytype
hierarchy_top_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
department_str School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Science and Engineering{{{_:::_}}}School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences
document_store_str 1
active_str 0
description Although mosquitoes can have innate preferences for particular blood-meal hosts, their realised feeding patterns on different host species can be modified under climate and land use change with implications for disease spread. Therefore, it is important to understand the niche breadth of vectors and the extent to which shifts in feeding patterns can be predicted. Six prominent disease-vectoring mosquitoes: Aedes aegypti, Ae. albopictus, Anopheles funestus, An. gambiae, Culex pipiens, Cx. quinquefasciatus. Focusing on blood-meal studies that used ‘universal’ molecular methods with broad taxonomic coverage, we compiled evidence from > 15,600 blood-meals. We estimated mosquito's host niche breadth and we used hierarchical Dirichlet regression models to investigate shifts in feeding patterns among different functional and taxonomic groups of host species in relation to host and environmental factors. We estimated host ranges of 179–321 species for each of the two Culex mosquitoes and 26–65 species for Aedes mosquitoes, comprising considerably broader host niche breadths than previously anticipated. For the two Anopheles species, we estimated host ranges of 7–29 species. We found some evidence that shifts in feeding patterns among different host functional and taxonomic groups were associated with environmental conditions such as temperature and livestock density, while our results also demonstrate that with the currently available evidence, global predictions of shifts in mosquito feeding patterns are impeded by significant uncertainty. Our global meta-analysis afforded first insights into the shifts of feeding patterns in variable environments, suggesting that host choice is not a simple function of host availability, but contingent on other environmental drivers. Improving resolution and consistency of data gathering and reporting will improve the precision of how blood-meal studies can inform us of present and potential risks of pathogen transmission events.
published_date 2025-06-19T05:28:57Z
_version_ 1851097914012598272
score 11.444473

Similar Items