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Mycoplasma gallisepticum Infection in House Finches (Carpodacus mexicanus) Affects Mosquito Blood Feeding Patterns

Disease-induced lethargy can diminish host capacity to repel or kill biting mosquitoes. We exposed house finches (Carpodacus mexicanus) to mosquitoes (Culex pipiens pipiens), repeated the experiment after inoculating finches with Mycoplasma gallisepticum, and then repeated the experiment with the same birds after curing their infections. We videotaped avian behaviors before and during mosquito exposure, identifying hosts through blood meal DNA fingerprinting. Results revealed heterogeneity in mosquito preference regardless of infection. Mosquitoes choosing between two healthy finches were more likely to feed upon the same individual bird consistently. When one bird was sick, mosquitoes exhibited no preference. Sick birds made fewer total defensive behaviors than healthy birds, but only foot stomps were associated with reduced mosquito feeding success. Our results suggest that Mycoplasma and other avian infections that alter bird defensive behavior may influence mosquito feeding patterns and transmission of arthropod-borne pathogens such as West Nile virus.

Received May 4, 2007. Accepted for publication June 3, 2007.

Acknowledgments: The authors thank K.V. Dhondt for infecting and treating finches with M. gallisepticum, T. Moscato for assistance with house finch care and maintenance, M. Ortega-Breña and G. Wein-stein for assistance in video analysis, B. Poulson, L. Evans, M. Mc-Kenna, and S. Woo for laboratory assistance, and L. Stenzler and C. Makarewich for technical support with house finch genotyping.

Financial support: This work was funded by Hatch Project (NYC-139432) and CDC (USO/CCU 220512) grants (awarded to L.C.H.), Grace H. Griswold Endowment funds (to J.M.D.), and an NIH-NSF "Ecology of Infectious Diseases" Program grant (DEB0094456, to A.A.D.).

^* Address correspondence to Laura C. Harrington, Department of Entomology, Cornell University, 3138 Comstock Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853. E-mail: lch27{at}cornell.edu

Authors’ addresses: Jonathan M. Darbro, Department of Entomology, Cornell University, 3132 Comstock Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853, Telephone: +1 (607) 255-7040, Fax: +1 (607) 255-0939, E-mail: jon.darbro{at}gmail.com. André A. Dhondt, Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, 159 Sapsucker Road, Ithaca, NY 14850, Telephone: +1 (607) 254-2445, Fax: +1 (607) 253-2104, E-mail: aad4{at}cornell.edu. Françoise M. Vermeylen, Cornell Statistical Consulting Unit, Cornell University, B11 Savage Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853, Telephone: +1 (607) 255-8211, Fax: +1 (607) 255-1033, E-mail: fmv1{at}cornell.edu. Laura C. Harrington, Department of Entomology, Cornell University, 3138 Comstock Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853, Telephone: +1 (607) 255-4475, Fax: +1 (607) 255-0939, E-mail: lch27{at}cornell.edu.