title: Determinants of host feeding success by Anopheles farauti.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The proportion of blood meals that mosquitoes take from a host species is a function of the interplay of extrinsic (abundance and location of potential hosts) and intrinsic (innate preference) factors. A mark-release-recapture experiment addressed whether host preference in a population of Anopheles farauti was uniform or if there were anthropophilic and zoophilic subpopulations. The corresponding fitness associated with selecting different hosts for blood meals was compared by measuring fecundity.
  
  
  METHODS
  The attractiveness of humans for blood meals by An. farauti in the Solomon Islands was compared to pigs using tent traps. Host fidelity was assessed by mark-release-recapture experiments in which different colour dusts were linked to the host to which the mosquito was first attracted. Outdoor resting An. farauti were captured on barrier screens and the human blood index (HBI) as well as the feeding index were calculated. The fecundity of individual An. farauti after feeding on either humans or pigs was assessed from blood-fed mosquitoes held in individual oviposition chambers.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Anopheles farauti were more attracted to humans than pigs at a ratio of 1.31:1.00. The mark-release-recapture experiment found evidence for An. farauti being a single population regarding host preference. The HBI of outdoor resting An. farauti was 0.93 and the feeding index was 1.29. Anopheles farauti that fed on a human host laid more eggs but had a longer oviposition time compared to An. farauti that had blood fed on a pig.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  One of the strongest drivers for host species preference was the relative abundance of the different host species. Here, An. farauti have a slight preference for humans over pigs as blood meal sources. However, the limited availability of alternative hosts relative to humans in the Solomon Islands ensures a very high proportion of blood meals are obtained from humans, and thus, the transmission potential of malaria by An. farauti is high.
authors.affiliation: Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine, James Cook University, Cairns, QLD, 4870, Australia. tanya.russell@jcu.edu.au.
authors.forename: Tanya L
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0920-6844
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Russell
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD, 4068, Australia.|CSIRO, Dutton Park, Brisbane, QLD, 4102, Australia.
authors.forename: Nigel W
authors.initials: NW
authors.lastname: Beebe
authors.affiliation: National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme, Ministry of Health, Honiara, Solomon Islands.
authors.forename: Hugo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bugoro
authors.affiliation: National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme, Ministry of Health, Honiara, Solomon Islands.
authors.forename: Allan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Apairamo
authors.affiliation: Australian Army Malaria Institute, Gallipoli Barracks, Enoggera, 4052, Australia.
authors.forename: Robert D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Cooper
authors.affiliation: Eck Institute for Global Health, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, 46556, USA.
authors.forename: Frank H
authors.initials: FH
authors.lastname: Collins
authors.affiliation: Eck Institute for Global Health, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, 46556, USA.
authors.forename: Neil F
authors.initials: NF
authors.lastname: Lobo
authors.affiliation: CSIRO, Dutton Park, Brisbane, QLD, 4102, Australia.
authors.forename: Thomas R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Burkot
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000852:Anopheles / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D001681:Biological Assay; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D005298:Fertility; D058507:Host Specificity; D006801:Humans; D008542:Melanesia; D013552:Swine
keywords: An. farauti; Barrier screens; Fecundity; Host fidelity; Human blood index (HBI); Mark-release-recapture; Outdoor resting; Solomon Islands