title: A global assembly of adult female mosquito mark-release-recapture data to inform the control of mosquito-borne pathogens.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Pathogen transmission by mosquitos is known to be highly sensitive to mosquito bionomic parameters. Mosquito mark-release-recapture (MMRR) experiments are a standard method for estimating such parameters including dispersal, population size and density, survival, blood feeding frequency and blood meal host preferences.
  
  
  METHODS
  We assembled a comprehensive database describing adult female MMRR experiments. Bibliographic searches were used to build a digital library of MMRR studies and selected data describing the reported outcomes were extracted.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The resulting database contained 774 unique adult female MMRR experiments involving 58 vector mosquito species from the three main genera of importance to human health: Aedes, Anopheles and Culex. Crude examination of these data revealed patterns associated with geography as well as mosquito genus, consistent with bionomics varying by species-specific life history and ecological context. Recapture success varied considerably and was significantly different amongst genera, with 8, 4 and 1% of adult females recaptured for Aedes, Anopheles and Culex species, respectively. A large proportion of experiments (59%) investigated dispersal and survival and many allowed disaggregation of the release and recapture data. Geographic coverage was limited to just 143 localities around the world.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This MMRR database is a substantial contribution to the compilation of global data that can be used to better inform basic research and public health interventions, to identify and fill knowledge gaps and to enrich theory and evidence-based ecological and epidemiological studies of mosquito vectors, pathogen transmission and disease prevention. The database revealed limited geographic coverage and a relative scarcity of information for vector species of substantial public health relevance. It represents, however, a wealth of entomological information not previously compiled and of particular interest for mosquito-borne pathogen transmission models.
authors.affiliation: Fogarty International Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA. carlos.guerraloaiza@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Carlos A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Guerra
authors.forename: Robert C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Reiner
authors.forename: T Alex
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Perkins
authors.forename: Steve W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Lindsay
authors.forename: Janet T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Midega
authors.forename: Oliver J
authors.initials: OJ
authors.lastname: Brady
authors.forename: Christopher M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Barker
authors.forename: William K
authors.initials: WK
authors.lastname: Reisen
authors.forename: Laura C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Harrington
authors.forename: Willem
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Takken
authors.forename: Uriel
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Kitron
authors.forename: Alun L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Lloyd
authors.forename: Simon I
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Hay
authors.forename: Thomas W
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Scott
authors.forename: David L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Smith
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000635:transmission*; D009033:Culicidae / Q000382:microbiology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D014943:Global Health; D006801:Humans; D007303:Insect Vectors; D008297:Male; D009032:Mosquito Control; D011157:Population Dynamics; D013045:Species Specificity