John P. McLaughlin
Daniel S. Gruner
Taylor A. Bogar
An Bui
Jasmine N. Childress
Magaly Espinoza
Elizabeth S. Forbes
Cora A. Johnston
Maggie Klope
Ana Miller-ter Kuile
Michelle Lee
Katherine A. Plummer
David A. Weber
Ronald T. Young
Hillary S. Young
Kevin D. Lafferty
2018
<p><span>The Asian tiger mosquito, </span><i>Aedes albopictus,</i><span><span> </span>appears to have been extirpated from Palmyra Atoll following rat eradication. Anecdotal biting reports, collection records, and regular captures in black-light traps showed the species was present before rat eradication. Since then, there have been no biting reports and no captures over 2 years of extensive trapping (black-light and scent traps). By contrast, the southern house mosquito,<span> </span></span><i>Culex quinquefasciatus,</i><span><span> </span>was abundant before and after rat eradication. We hypothesize that mammals were a substantial and preferred blood meal for<span> </span></span><i>Aedes</i><span>, whereas<span> </span></span><i>Culex</i><span><span> </span>feeds mostly on seabirds. Therefore, after rat eradication, humans and seabirds alone could not support positive population growth or maintenance of<span> </span></span><i>Aedes</i><span>. This seems to be the first documented accidental secondary extinction of a mosquito. Furthermore, it suggests that preferred host abundance can limit mosquito populations, opening new directions for controlling important disease vectors that depend on introduced species like rats.</span></p>
application/pdf
10.1098/rsbl.2017.0743
en
The Royal Society Publishing
Local extinction of the Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus) following rat eradication on Palmyra Atol
article