Landscape and mosquito community impact the avian Plasmodium infection in Culex pipiens
Martina Ferraguti,
Josué Martínez-de la Puente,
Santiago Ruiz,
Ramón C. Soriguer,
Jordi Figuerola
Affiliations
Martina Ferraguti
Departamento de Biología de la Conservación y Cambio Global, Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD), CSIC, C/Américo Vespucio, 26, 41092 Seville, Spain; CIBER de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain; Corresponding author
Josué Martínez-de la Puente
Department of Parasitology, University of Granada (UGR), Granada, Spain; CIBER de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain
Santiago Ruiz
Servicio de Control de Mosquitos, Diputación de Huelva, Huelva, Spain; CIBER de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain
Ramón C. Soriguer
Departamento de Biología de la Conservación y Cambio Global, Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD), CSIC, C/Américo Vespucio, 26, 41092 Seville, Spain; CIBER de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain
Jordi Figuerola
Departamento de Biología de la Conservación y Cambio Global, Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD), CSIC, C/Américo Vespucio, 26, 41092 Seville, Spain; CIBER de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain
Summary: Avian malaria parasites provide an important model for studying host-pathogen interactions, yet understanding their dynamics in vectors under natural conditions is limited. We investigated the effect of vector abundance, species richness and diversity, and habitat characteristics on avian Plasmodium prevalence and lineage richness in Culex pipiens across 45 urban, natural, and rural localities in southern Spain. Analyzing 16,574 mosquitoes grouped in 768 mosquito pools, 32.7% exhibited parasite presence. 13 different Plasmodium lineages were identified, with the lineage SYAT05 being the most commonly found. Parasite prevalence positively correlated with the distance to saltmarshes and rivers, but negatively with the distance to total water source. Parasite lineage diversity was higher in natural than in rural areas and positively correlated with mosquito species richness. These results emphasize the complex dynamics of avian Plasmodium in the wild, with habitat characteristics and vector community driving the parasite transmission by mosquito vectors.