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Eliminating malaria-spreading mosquitoes would have little impact on ecosystems
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Removing or reducing the population of malaria-carrying mosquitoes would help reduce malaria mortality and would likely have little impact on local ecosystems, according to a literature review of existing studies.
Malaria is one of the most prevalent and deadly diseases in tropical regions, infecting 216 million people and killing 450,000 globally in 2016, according to C.M. Collins, PhD, senior academic in the Centre for Environmental Policy at Imperial College London, and colleagues. It is most frequently transmitted and spread through the bite of infected the Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes.
Reducing this species could lessen the risk for malaria. Collins and colleagues examined what effects this would have on the ecosystem.
“New genetic control methods for mosquitoes may reduce vector species without direct effects on other species or the physical environment common with insecticide or drainage,” Collins and colleagues wrote in Medical and Veterinary Entomology. “Effects on predators and competitors could, however, be a concern as Anopheles gambiae [sensu lato] is preyed upon in all life stages.”
Reviewing the studies available, Collins and colleagues assessed the strength of the ecological interactions of A. gambiae. They found that the mosquitoes “are a relatively low-value, low-volume and disaggregated resource, and this is reflected in a lack of evidence for any tight links with predators.” Although some animals do eat A. gambiae, Collins and colleagues found that no predators relied on them solely as a food source.
A. gambiae mosquitoes also have a limited seasonality, restricting generalist predation to species that would consider them to be prey, they said.
Examining existing studies also revealed that several competing mosquito species could increase if A. gambiae density is reduced in specific habitats, Collins and colleagues reported. With less competition for food and resources, these populations could grow. Generalist predators, they wrote, that already prey on these competing species would substitute them for A. gambiae to compensate for the loss.
“Anopheles gambiae is a species of importance because of its role as a vector of malaria, not as a key component of ecosystem food webs,” the authors wrote. – by Caitlyn Stulpin
Disclosures: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.
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