Dispersal of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) in an urban endemic dengue area in the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Experimental releases of female Aedes (Stegomyia) aegypti and Aedes (Stegomyia) albopictus were performed in August and September 1999, in an urban area of Nova Iguaçu, State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to estimate their flight range in a circular area of 1,600 m where 1,472 ovitraps were set. Releases of 3,055 Ae. aegypti and 2,225 Ae. albopictus females, fed with rubidium (Rb)-marked blood and surgically prevented from subsequent blood-feeding, were separated by 11 days. Rb was detected in ovitrap-collected eggs by atomic emission spectrophotometry. Rb-marked eggs of both species were detected up to 800 m from the release point. Eggs of Ae. albopictus were more numerous and more heterogeneously distributed in the area than those of Ae. aegypti. Eggs positively marked for Rb were found at all borders of the study area, suggesting that egg laying also occurred beyond these limits. Results from this study suggest that females can fly at least 800 m in 6 days and, if infected, potentially spread virus rapidly.

Paleopharmacology and pollen: theory, method, and application

Parasitism was a universal human condition. Because of this, people developed herbal medicines to treat parasites as part of their pharmacopoeias. We propose that it is possible to recover evidence of medicinal plants from archaeological sites and link their use to specific health conditions. This is a multidisciplinary approach that must involve at least paleoethnobotanists, archaeoparasitologists, paleopathologists, and pharmacologists.

Dispersal pattern of the sand fly Lutzomyia neivai (Diptera: Psychodidae) in a cutaneous leishmaniasis endemic rural area in Southeastern Brazil

The dispersal pattern of the sand fly Lutzomyia neivai was studied through mark-release-recapture experiments in an American cutaneous leishmaniasis endemic rural area in Southeastern Brazil. Over 6500 specimens were marked with fluorescent powder and released in forest edge and peridomicile habitats from August to November 1999, February and April 2000. Recapture attempts were made using Shannon and CDC traps up to eight successive nights after releases. A total of 493 (7.58%) specimens were recaptured. The number of recaptured males and females of L. neivai in CDC traps was not affected by the distance between the trap and the release points. Approximately 90% of males and females recaptured in CDC traps were caught up to 70 m from the release points. The maximum female flight range recorded was 128 m. The average flight range per day was less than 60 m for males and females. Of the flies released in forest edge, approximately 16% of the recaptured females were caught in Shannon traps in the peridomicile habitat. The results indicate that the movements of L. neivai are spatially focal and the possibility of dispersion from forest to peridomicile habitat may be an important way of contracting leishmaniasis in dwellings.

Container productivity, daily survival rates and dispersal of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in a high income dengue epidemic neighbourhood of Rio de Janeiro: presumed influence of differential urban structure on mosquito biology

Different urban structures might affect the life history parameters of Aedes aegypti and, consequently, dengue transmission. Container productivity, probability of daily survival (PDS) and dispersal rates were estimated for mosquito populations in a high income neighbourhood of Rio de Janeiro. Results were contrasted with those previously found in a suburban district, as well as those recorded in a slum. After inspecting 1,041 premises, domestic drains and discarded plastic pots were identified as the most productive containers, collectively holding up to 80% of the total pupae. In addition, three cohorts of dust-marked Ae. aegypti females were released and recaptured daily using BGS-Traps, sticky ovitraps and backpack aspirators in 50 randomly selected houses; recapture rate ranged from 5-12.2% within cohorts. PDS was determined by two models and ranged from 0.607-0.704 (exponential model) and 0.659-0.721 (non-linear model), respectively. Mean distance travelled varied from 57-122 m, with a maximum dispersal of 263 m. Overall, lower infestation indexes and adult female survival were observed in the high income neighbourhood, suggesting a lower dengue transmission risk in comparison to the suburban area and the slum. Since results show that urban structure can influence mosquito biology, specific control strategies might be used in order to achieve cost-effective Ae. aegypti control.

Dispersal and survival of Nyssomyia intermedia and Nyssomyia neivai (Diptera: Psychodidae: Phlebotominae) in a cutaneous leishmaniasis endemic area of the speleological province of the Ribeira Valley, state of São Paulo, Brazil

The dispersal and survival of the phlebotomines Nyssomyia intermedia and Nyssomyia neivai (both implicated as vectors of the cutaneous leishmaniasis agent) in an endemic area was investigated using a capture-mark-release technique in five experiments from August-December 2003 in municipality of Iporanga, state of São Paulo, Brazil. A total of 1,749 males and 1,262 females of Ny. intermedia and 915 males and 411 females of Ny. neivai were marked and released during the five experiments. Recapture attempts were made using automatic light traps, aspiration in natural resting places and domestic animal shelters and Shannon traps. A total of 153 specimens (3.48%) were recaptured: 2.59% (78/3,011) for Ny. intermedia and 5.35% (71/1,326) for Ny. neivai. Both species were recaptured up to 144 h post-release, with the larger part of them recaptured within 48 h. The median dispersion distances for Ny. intermedia and Ny. neivai, respectively, were 109 m and 100 m. The greatest dispersal range of Ny. intermedia was 180 m, while for Ny. neivai one female was recaptured in a pasture at 250 m and another in a pigsty at 520 m, showing a tendency to disperse to more open areas. The daily survival rates calculated based on regressions of the numbers of marked insects recaptured on the six successive days after release were 0.746 for males and 0.575 for females of Ny. intermedia and 0.649 for both sexes of Ny. neivai. The size of the populations in the five months ranged from 8,332-725,085 for Ny. intermedia males, 2,193-104,490 for Ny. intermedia females, 1,687-350,122 for Ny. neivai males and 254-49,705 for Ny. neivai females.

Animal dispersal modelling: handling landscape features and related animal choices

Animal dispersal in a fragmented landscape depends on the complex interaction between landscape structure and animal behavior. To better understand how individuals disperse, it is important to explicitly represent the properties of organisms and the landscape in which they move. A common approach to modelling dispersal includes representing the landscape as a grid of equal sized cells and then simulating individual movement as a correlated random walk. This approach uses a priori scale of resolution, which limits the representation of all landscape features and how different dispersal abilities are modelled. We develop a vector-based landscape model coupled with an object-oriented model for animal dispersal. In this spatially explicit dispersal model, landscape features are defined based on their geographic and thematic properties and dispersal is modelled through consideration of an organism's behavior, movement rules and searching strategies (such as visual cues). We present the model's underlying concepts, its ability to adequately represent landscape features and provide simulation of dispersal according to different dispersal abilities. We demonstrate the potential of the model by simulating two virtual species in a real Swiss landscape. This illustrates the model's ability to simulate complex dispersal processes and provides information about dispersal such as colonization probability and spatial distribution of the organism's path.

Tests for sex-biased dispersal using bi-parentally inherited genetic markers.

Understanding why dispersal is sex-biased in many taxa is still a major concern in evolutionary ecology. Dispersal tends to be male-biased in mammals and female-biased in birds, but counter-examples exist and little is known about sex bias in other taxa. Obtaining accurate measures of dispersal in the field remains a problem. Here we describe and compare several methods for detecting sex-biased dispersal using bi-parentally inherited, codominant genetic markers. If gene flow is restricted among populations, then the genotype of an individual tells something about its origin. Provided that dispersal occurs at the juvenile stage and that sampling is carried out on adults, genotypes sampled from the dispersing sex should on average be less likely (compared to genotypes from the philopatric sex) in the population in which they were sampled. The dispersing sex should be less genetically structured and should present a larger heterozygote deficit. In this study we use computer simulations and a permutation test on four statistics to investigate the conditions under which sex-biased dispersal can be detected. Two tests emerge as fairly powerful. We present results concerning the optimal sampling strategy (varying number of samples, individuals, loci per individual and level of polymorphism) under different amounts of dispersal for each sex. These tests for biases in dispersal are also appropriate for any attribute (e.g. size, colour, status) suspected to influence the probability of dispersal. A windows program carrying out these tests can be freely downloaded from http://www.unil.ch/izea/softwares/fstat.html

Dispersal of Triatoma infestans and other Triatominae species in the arid Chaco of Argentina: Flying, walking or passive carriage? The importance of walking females

The aim of this paper was to analyse the active dispersal of Triatoma infestans and the role of chickens as passive carriers of this insect in peridomestic areas of La Rioja, Argentina. To measure active dispersal, monthly catches were made on six consecutive nights for five months (in the warm season) using light traps (for flying insects) and sticky dispersal barriers (for walking insects). The nutritional and reproductive states of adults were evaluated. Over the course of the sampling period, a total of eight flying adults, six walking nymphs and 10 walking adults of the species T. infestans were captured, as well as specimens of Triatoma guasayana, Triatoma eratyrusiformis and Triatoma platensis. Our data demonstrate for the first time that females of T. infestans can disperse by walking. This may be an adaptive strategy because it allows them to move with eggs and/or with good blood reserves, which are not possible when flying. All flying and walking individuals of both genders were of an appropriate physiological state that would allow for colonisation of the target habitat. However, manual inspection of 122 chickens suggests that it is unlikely that these animals passively transport T. infestans. Finally, the dispersal activity of T. infestans was compared with other triatomines using a dispersion index.

Toward Protein Biomarkers for Allergy: CD4+ T Cell Proteomics in Allergic and Nonallergic Subjects Sampled in and out of Pollen Season.

Allergy is an immunological disorder of the upper airways, lung, skin, and the gut with a growing prevalence over the last decades in Western countries. Atopy, the genetic predisposition for allergy, is strongly dependent on familial inheritance and environmental factors. These observations call for predictive markers of progression from atopy to allergy, a prerequisite to any active intervention in neonates and children (prophylactic interventions/primary prevention) or in adults (immunomodulatory interventions/secondary prevention). In an attempt to identify early biomarkers of the "atopic march" using minimally invasive sampling, CD4+ T cells from 20 adult volunteers (10 healthy and 10 with respiratory allergies) were isolated and quantitatively analyzed and their proteomes were compared in and out of pollen season (± antigen exposure). The proteome study based on high-resolution 2D gel electrophoresis revealed three candidate protein markers that distinguish the CD4+ T cell proteomes of normal from allergic individuals when sampled out of pollen season, namely Talin 1, Nipsnap homologue 3A, and Glutamate-cysteine ligase regulatory protein. Three proteins were found differentially expressed between the CD4+ T cell proteomes of normal and allergic subjects when sampled during pollen season: carbonyl reductase, glutathione S-transferase ω 1, and 2,4-dienoyl-CoA reductase. The results were partly validated by Western blotting.

Enhanced diagnosis of pollen allergy using specific immunoglobulin E determination to detect major allergens and panallergens.

BACKGROUND Pollen is one of the main causes of allergic sensitization. It is not easy to make an etiological diagnosis of pollen-allergic patients because of the wide variety of sensitizing pollens, association with food allergy, and increasing incidence of polysensitization, which may result from the presence of allergens that are common to different species, as is the case of panallergens. OBJECTIVE To compare the results of skin prick tests (SPT) using whole pollen extract with specific immunoglobulin (Ig) E determination for several allergens (purified panallergens included) in the diagnosis of polysensitized pollen-allergic patients. METHODS The study sample comprised 179 pollen-sensitized patients who underwent SPT with pollen extract and allergen-specific IgE determination against different allergens. RESULTS The level of concordance between the traditional diagnostic test (SPT) and IgE determination was low, especially in patients sensitized to the panallergens profilin and polcalcin. In the case of SPT, the results demonstrated that patients who are sensitized to either of these panallergens present a significantly higher number of positive results than patients who are not. However, IgE determination revealed that while patients sensitized to polcalcins are sensitized to allergens from a higher number of pollens than the rest of the sample, this is not the case in patients sensitized to profilins. On the other hand, sensitization to profilin or lipid transfer proteins was clearly associated with food allergy. CONCLUSIONS Sensitization to panallergens could be a confounding factor in the diagnosis of polysensitized pollen-allergic patients as well as a marker for food allergy. However, more studies are required to further investigate the role of these molecules.

Multiple causes of the evolution of dispersal in metapopulations

Abstract This work investigates the outcome of the interaction of the multiple causes of selection acting on dispersal in metapopulations. Dispersal, defined here as the ability of individuals to move out of their natal population to reproduce in an other one, has three main causes. First, population variability, as caused by random population extinctions, induces high incentives to disperse through the probability to recolonize an empty population and thus to escape competition for space. This adds to the second cause, kin competition avoidance where individuals in a crowded patch will benefit from the release of competition with relatives caused by dispersal. Dispersal may thus be viewed as an altruistic act. Third, dispersal might evolve as a strategy of avoiding inbred matings which are expected to bear fitness costs due to the presence of a mutation load. The interaction of inbreeding avoidance and kin competition is explored in chapter 2. Conditions conducive to the establishment of a high relatedness within population are expected to induce high dispersal through both kin competition avoidance and inbreeding avoidance. However, the dynamics of inbreeding depression is bound to depend on the level of gene flow as well as on the deleterious mutation parameters. Mutations more prone to settle a high level of inbreeding depression will select for increased dispersal. Chapter 3 investigates the effect of the mating system on the joint dynamics of dispersal and inbreeding depression. Higher inbreeding rates as those found in various mating systems lead to a more efficient purge of the deleterious mutations. However, this decrease in the costs of inbreeding are usually accompanied by a higher within deme relatedness which balances the decreased effect of inbreeding avoidance on the evolution of dispersal. Finally, population turnover, as found in most natural populations has a dual effect on dispersal. Indeed, it increases dispersal by the increased probability of winning a breeding slot in extinct demes it creates but, on the other hand, it counter-selects for dispersal through the slow establishment of unsaturated demic conditions which contribute to lower the local competition for space. Résumé Ce travail se propose d'étudier les effets conjoints des multiples causes de l'évolution de la dispersion en métapopulation. La dispersion, définie ici comme étant la capacité de quitter sa population d'origine pour se reproduire dans une antre population, possède trois principales causes. Premièrement, l'extinction aléatoire de populations sélectionne pour plus de dispersion car elle augmente la Probabilité de recoloniser un patch éteint et donc d'échapper à la compétition locale. La seconde cause, l'évitement de la compétition de parentèle, sélectionne pour plus de dispersion par les bénéfices qu'elle apporte par diminution de la compétition entre individus apparentés. Troisièmement, la dispersion évolue "comme stratégie d'évitement de la dépression de consanguinité présente dans des petites populations isolées. L'interaction entre l'évitement de la consanguinité et de la compétition de parentèle est étudiée dans le chapitre 2. Les conditions conduisant à l'établissement d'un fort apparentement à l'intérieur des populations sont celles qui génèrent le plus de sélection pour la dispersion. Cependant, la dynamique de la dépression de consanguinité est dépendante de la dispersion entre populations ainsi que des paramètres des mutations délétères. Les mutations créant le plus de dépression de consanguinité sont celles qui sélectionneront le plus pour de la dispersion. Le chapitre 3 s'intéresse aux effets du système de reproduction sur la dynamique conjointe du fardeau de mutation et de la dispersion. La purge des mutations délétère étant plus sévère dans des conditions de forte consanguinité, elle diminue les coûts de la consanguinité mais est habituellement accompagné par une augmentation de l'apparentement et donc l'effet peut être neutre sur la dispersion. Finalement, le turnover de populations a un effet dual sur la dispersion. La dispersion est sélectionnée par l'augmentation de la probabilité de gagner une place de reproduction dans des patchs éteints mais elle est également contre sélectionnée par la désaturation des patchs causée par l'extinction et la diminution de la compétition pour l'espace qui intervient dans ce cas.

Advances in our understanding of mammalian sex-biased dispersal.

Sex-biased dispersal is an almost ubiquitous feature of mammalian life history, but the evolutionary causes behind these patterns still require much clarification. A quarter of a century since the publication of seminal papers describing general patterns of sex-biased dispersal in both mammals and birds, we review the advances in our theoretical understanding of the evolutionary causes of sex-biased dispersal, and those in statistical genetics that enable us to test hypotheses and measure dispersal in natural populations. We use mammalian examples to illustrate patterns and proximate causes of sex-biased dispersal, because by far the most data are available and because they exhibit an enormous diversity in terms of dispersal strategy, mating and social systems. Recent studies using molecular markers have helped to confirm that sex-biased dispersal is widespread among mammals and varies widely in direction and intensity, but there is a great need to bridge the gap between genetic information, observational data and theory. A review of mammalian data indicates that the relationship between direction of sex-bias and mating system is not a simple one. The role of social systems emerges as a key factor in determining intensity and direction of dispersal bias, but there is still need for a theoretical framework that can account for the complex interactions between inbreeding avoidance, kin competition and cooperation to explain the impressive diversity of patterns.

Local Competition, Inbreeding, and the Evolution of Sex-Biased Dispersal.

Using game theory, we developed a kin-selection model to investigate the consequences of local competition and inbreeding depression on the evolution of natal dispersal. Mating systems have the potential to favor strong sex biases in dispersal because sex differences in potential reproductive success affect the balance between local resource competition and local mate competition. No bias is expected when local competition equally affects males and females, as happens in monogamous systems and also in polygynous or promiscuous ones as long as female fitness is limited by extrinsic factors (breeding resources). In contrast, a male-biased dispersal is predicted when local mate competition exceeds local resource competition, as happens under polygyny/promiscuity when female fitness is limited by intrinsic factors (maximal rate of processing resources rather than resources themselves). This bias is reinforced by among-sex interactions: female philopatry enhances breeding opportunities for related males, while male dispersal decreases the chances that related females will inbreed. These results meet empirical patterns in mammals: polygynous/promiscuous species usually display a male-biased dispersal, while both sexes disperse in monogamous species. A parallel is drawn with sex-ratio theory, which also predicts biases toward the sex that suffers less from local competition. Optimal sex ratios and optimal sex-specific dispersal show mutual dependence, which argues for the development of coevolution models.

Sex-biased dispersal in a migratory bat: a characterization using sex-specific demographic parameters.

We studied the noctule bat (Nyctalus noctula), in which the mitochondrial F(ST) is about 10 times that revealed by nuclear markers, to address two questions. We first verified whether random dispersal of one sex is compatible with highly contrasted mitochondrial and nuclear population structures. Using computer simulations, we then assessed the power of multilocus population differentiation tests when the expected population structure departs only slightly from panmixia. Using an island model with sex-specific demographic parameters, we found that random male dispersal is consistent with the population structure observed in the noctule. However, other parameter combinations are also compatible with the data. We computed the minimum sex bias in dispersal (at least 69% of the dispersing individuals are males), a result that would not be available if we had used more classical population genetic models. The power of multilocus population differentiation tests was unexpectedly high, the tests being significant in almost 100% of the replicates, although the observed population structure infered from nuclear markers was extremely low (F(ST) = 0.6%).

Fronts from two-dimensional dispersal kernels: Beyond the nonoverlapping-generations model

Most integrodifference models of biological invasions are based on the nonoverlapping-generations approximation. However, the effect of multiple reproduction events overlapping generations on the front speed can be very important especially for species with a long life spam . Only in one-dimensional space has this approximation been relaxed previously, although almost all biological invasions take place in two dimensions. Here we present a model that takes into account the overlapping generations effect or, more generally, the stage structure of the population , and we analyze the main differences with the corresponding nonoverlappinggenerations results