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Open Call for Research Projects in ICTS-Doñana!

The Singular Scientific and Technical Infrastructure Doñana Biological Reserve (ICTS-Doñana) announces the opening of a call for international research projects in the Doñana Natural Space.

Las altas temperaturas están provocando que las lagunas y las marismas de Doñana pierdan agua rápidamente

La superficie inundada en la marisma es de un 78% pero la profundidad es escasa. Por otra parte, sólo el 1,9% de las lagunas temporales están inundadas. Las precipitaciones crean una oportunidad...

Traffic noise causes lifelong harm to baby birds

A study with CSIC participation reveals for the first time that car noise harms individuals throughout their lifetime even years after exposure

Illegal wildlife trade, a serious problem for biodiversity and human health

A research team led by the Doñana BIological Station and the University Pablo de Olavide have detected wild-caught pets in 95% of the localities in the Neotropic and warns of the risk of zoonotic...

Urbanization and loss of woody vegetation are changing key traits of arthropod communities

Urbanization is favouring smaller beetle species and larger spider species with greater dispersal capacity.

The loss of woody areas is linked to a decline in the duration of the activity...

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Central role of the mosquito Cx. perexiguus in the enzootic circulation of West Nile Virus in southern Spain

Central role of the mosquito Cx. perexiguus in the enzootic circulation of West Nile Virus in southern Spain

Mosquito community composition plays a central role in the transmission of zoonotic vector-borne pathogens. In this study it was evaluated how the mosquito community affects the seroprevalence of West Nile virus (WNV) in house sparrows along an urbanisation gradient in an area with the endemic circulation of this virus. 2544 birds and 34.0829 mosquitoes were sampled in 45 localities, analysed in 15 groups, each containing one urban, one rural and one natural area. WNV seroprevalence was evaluated using an epitope-blocking ELISA kit and a micro virus-neutralization test (VNT). The presence of WNV antibodies was confirmed in 1.96% and 0.67% of birds by ELISA and VNT, respectively. The VNT-seropositive birds were captured in rural and natural areas, but not in urban areas. Human population density was zero in all the localities where VNT-positive birds were captured, which potentially explains the low incidence of human WNV cases in the area. The prevalence of neutralizing antibodies against WNV was positively correlated with the abundance of the ornithophilic Culex perexiguus but negatively associated with the abundance of the mammophilic Ochlerotatus caspius and Anopheles atroparvus. These results suggest that the enzootic circulation of WNV in Spain occurs in areas with larger populations of Cx. perexiguus and low human population densities. informacion[at]ebd.csic.es: Martínez-de la Puente et al (2018) Mosquito community influences West Nile virus seroprevalence in wild birds: implications for the risk of spillover into human populations. Scientific Reports 8: 2599 Doi 10.1038/s41598-018-20825-z


https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-20825-z