BACKGROUND Blood meal host selection by mosquito vectors is an important component in understanding disease dynamics of pathogens that threaten endemic fauna in isolated islands such as Galápagos. Research on the feeding behavior of mosquitoes can provide clues to the hosts and vectors involved in disease transmission. This information is particularly critical for endemic wildlife fauna in island systems that have evolved without resistance to novel diseases such as avian malaria. The aims of this study were to determine the blood-feeding patterns of two species of mosquitoes found in Galápagos and discuss how their feeding behavior may influence the transmission of pathogens such as avian malaria. METHODS In the summer of 2015, we sampled two mosquito species (Aedes taeniorhynchus and Culex quinquefasciatus) across 18 different sites on Isla Santa Cruz, which is the second largest island in Galápagos and has the largest human population. We trapped mosquitoes using CDC light traps and CDC gravid traps and identified sources of blood meals for engorged mosquitoes by sequencing a portion of the vertebrate mitochondrial cytochrome b gene. RESULTS Out of 947 female mosquitoes captured, 320 were blood-fed, and PCR amplifications were successful for 301 of the blood meals. Results revealed that both Aedes taeniorhynchus and Culex quinquefasciatus feed from a variety of vertebrate taxa, numerically dominated by humans on Isla Santa Cruz. CONCLUSIONS The high proportion of mammalian blood meals could represent locally available and abundant hosts on Santa Cruz. However, host surveys and estimates of relative abundances of vertebrate species will need to accompany mosquito trapping studies on non-inhabited and inhabited islands in Galápagos to further validate this.

中文翻译：

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评估位于加拉帕戈斯岛圣克鲁斯岛的库克斯（Culex quinquefasciatus）和伊蚊（Aedes taeniorhynchus）的血粉宿主。

背景技术通过蚊媒选择血粉宿主是理解威胁诸如加拉帕戈斯群岛之类孤岛中特有动物群的病原体疾病动态的重要组成部分。对蚊子摄食行为的研究可以为涉及疾病传播的宿主和媒介提供线索。该信息对于在没有抵抗新型疾病（例如禽类疟疾）的情况下进化的岛屿系统中的地方野生动植物群尤其重要。这项研究的目的是确定在加拉帕戈斯群岛发现的两种蚊子的采血模式，并讨论它们的采食行为如何影响诸如疟疾等病原体的传播。方法在2015年夏天，我们在圣克鲁斯岛（这是加拉帕戈斯群岛第二大岛，也是最大的人口）的18个不同地点取样了两种蚊子（伊蚊taeniorhynchus和库蚊quinquefasciatus）。我们使用CDC诱捕器和CDC妊娠诱捕器诱捕了蚊子，并通过对脊椎动物线粒体细胞色素b基因的一部分进行测序，确定了饱食性蚊子的血粉来源。结果在捕获的947只雌性蚊子中，有320只被喂血，PCR扩增成功地用于301份血粉。结果显示，伊蚊，伊蚊和库蚊（Culex quinquefasciatus）均来自多种脊椎动物类群，这些类群在数量上被人类在圣克鲁斯岛上占主导地位。结论高比例的哺乳动物血粉可能代表了圣克鲁斯本地可用的丰富宿主。然而，