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Mesocosm Experiments to Quantify Predation of Mosquito Larvae by Aquatic Predators to Determine Potential of Ecological Control of Malaria Vectors in Ethiopia

Malaria parasites are transmitted to humans by infectious female Anopheles mosquitoes. Chemical-insecticide-based mosquito control has been successful in reducing the burden of malaria. However, the emergence of insecticide resistance in malaria vectors and concerns about the effect of the chemicals...

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Autores principales: Olkeba, Beekam Kebede, Goethals, Peter L. M., Boets, Pieter, Duchateau, Luc, Degefa, Teshome, Eba, Kasahun, Yewhalaw, Delenasaw, Mereta, Seid Tiku
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8296878/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34199088
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18136904
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author Olkeba, Beekam Kebede
Goethals, Peter L. M.
Boets, Pieter
Duchateau, Luc
Degefa, Teshome
Eba, Kasahun
Yewhalaw, Delenasaw
Mereta, Seid Tiku
author_facet Olkeba, Beekam Kebede
Goethals, Peter L. M.
Boets, Pieter
Duchateau, Luc
Degefa, Teshome
Eba, Kasahun
Yewhalaw, Delenasaw
Mereta, Seid Tiku
author_sort Olkeba, Beekam Kebede
collection PubMed
description Malaria parasites are transmitted to humans by infectious female Anopheles mosquitoes. Chemical-insecticide-based mosquito control has been successful in reducing the burden of malaria. However, the emergence of insecticide resistance in malaria vectors and concerns about the effect of the chemicals on the environment, human health, and non-target organisms present a need for new or alternative vector control intervention tools. Biocontrol methods using aquatic invertebrate predators have emerged as a potential alternative and additional tool to control mosquito populations. Ecological control specifically makes use of species insights for improving the physical habitat conditions of competitors and predators of vectors. A first step towards this is to gain knowledge on the predation potential of several typically present macroinvertebrates. Hence, this study aimed at (1) examining the influence of the predation of hemipterans on the number of emerging adult mosquitoes and (2) detecting Anopheles mosquito DNA in the gut of those predators. The prey and predators were collected from a range of water bodies located in the Gilgel Gibe watershed, southwest Ethiopia. A semi-field study was carried out using mesocosms which were constructed using plastic containers mimicking the natural aquatic habitat of immature Anopheles mosquitoes. Adult mosquitoes that emerged from the mesocosms were collected using a mechanical aspirator. At the end of the experiment, predators were withdrawn from the mesocosms and identified to genus level. Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) was employed to identify sibling species of Anopheles gambiae s.l. and to detect Anopheles mosquito DNA in the gut of the predators. Data were analysed using R software. Giant water bugs (belostomatids) were the most aggressive predators of Anopheles larvae, followed by backswimmers (notonectids) and water boatmen (corixids). All female Anopheles gambiae s.l. emerged from the mesocosms were identified as Anopheles arabiensis. Anopheles arabiensis DNA was detected in the gut content of hemipteran specimens analysed from the three families. The number of the adult mosquitoes emerging from the mesocosms was affected by the presence of predators. The findings of this study provide evidence of the potential use of aquatic macroinvertebrate predators as biocontrol agents against immature Anopheles mosquitoes and their potential to be considered as a component of integrated vector management for insecticide resistance and the combined restoration of aquatic ecosystems via smart ecological engineering.
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spelling pubmed-82968782021-07-23 Mesocosm Experiments to Quantify Predation of Mosquito Larvae by Aquatic Predators to Determine Potential of Ecological Control of Malaria Vectors in Ethiopia Olkeba, Beekam Kebede Goethals, Peter L. M. Boets, Pieter Duchateau, Luc Degefa, Teshome Eba, Kasahun Yewhalaw, Delenasaw Mereta, Seid Tiku Int J Environ Res Public Health Article Malaria parasites are transmitted to humans by infectious female Anopheles mosquitoes. Chemical-insecticide-based mosquito control has been successful in reducing the burden of malaria. However, the emergence of insecticide resistance in malaria vectors and concerns about the effect of the chemicals on the environment, human health, and non-target organisms present a need for new or alternative vector control intervention tools. Biocontrol methods using aquatic invertebrate predators have emerged as a potential alternative and additional tool to control mosquito populations. Ecological control specifically makes use of species insights for improving the physical habitat conditions of competitors and predators of vectors. A first step towards this is to gain knowledge on the predation potential of several typically present macroinvertebrates. Hence, this study aimed at (1) examining the influence of the predation of hemipterans on the number of emerging adult mosquitoes and (2) detecting Anopheles mosquito DNA in the gut of those predators. The prey and predators were collected from a range of water bodies located in the Gilgel Gibe watershed, southwest Ethiopia. A semi-field study was carried out using mesocosms which were constructed using plastic containers mimicking the natural aquatic habitat of immature Anopheles mosquitoes. Adult mosquitoes that emerged from the mesocosms were collected using a mechanical aspirator. At the end of the experiment, predators were withdrawn from the mesocosms and identified to genus level. Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) was employed to identify sibling species of Anopheles gambiae s.l. and to detect Anopheles mosquito DNA in the gut of the predators. Data were analysed using R software. Giant water bugs (belostomatids) were the most aggressive predators of Anopheles larvae, followed by backswimmers (notonectids) and water boatmen (corixids). All female Anopheles gambiae s.l. emerged from the mesocosms were identified as Anopheles arabiensis. Anopheles arabiensis DNA was detected in the gut content of hemipteran specimens analysed from the three families. The number of the adult mosquitoes emerging from the mesocosms was affected by the presence of predators. The findings of this study provide evidence of the potential use of aquatic macroinvertebrate predators as biocontrol agents against immature Anopheles mosquitoes and their potential to be considered as a component of integrated vector management for insecticide resistance and the combined restoration of aquatic ecosystems via smart ecological engineering. MDPI 2021-06-27 /pmc/articles/PMC8296878/ /pubmed/34199088 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18136904 Text en © 2021 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Olkeba, Beekam Kebede
Goethals, Peter L. M.
Boets, Pieter
Duchateau, Luc
Degefa, Teshome
Eba, Kasahun
Yewhalaw, Delenasaw
Mereta, Seid Tiku
Mesocosm Experiments to Quantify Predation of Mosquito Larvae by Aquatic Predators to Determine Potential of Ecological Control of Malaria Vectors in Ethiopia
title Mesocosm Experiments to Quantify Predation of Mosquito Larvae by Aquatic Predators to Determine Potential of Ecological Control of Malaria Vectors in Ethiopia
title_full Mesocosm Experiments to Quantify Predation of Mosquito Larvae by Aquatic Predators to Determine Potential of Ecological Control of Malaria Vectors in Ethiopia
title_fullStr Mesocosm Experiments to Quantify Predation of Mosquito Larvae by Aquatic Predators to Determine Potential of Ecological Control of Malaria Vectors in Ethiopia
title_full_unstemmed Mesocosm Experiments to Quantify Predation of Mosquito Larvae by Aquatic Predators to Determine Potential of Ecological Control of Malaria Vectors in Ethiopia
title_short Mesocosm Experiments to Quantify Predation of Mosquito Larvae by Aquatic Predators to Determine Potential of Ecological Control of Malaria Vectors in Ethiopia
title_sort mesocosm experiments to quantify predation of mosquito larvae by aquatic predators to determine potential of ecological control of malaria vectors in ethiopia
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8296878/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34199088
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18136904
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