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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Detection Of West Nile Virus Activity In Male And Female Mosquitoes, And Evaluation Of Host-Utilization Patterns Of Mosquitoes, In East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, Andrew James Mackay
Detection Of West Nile Virus Activity In Male And Female Mosquitoes, And Evaluation Of Host-Utilization Patterns Of Mosquitoes, In East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, Andrew James Mackay
LSU Doctoral Dissertations
ABSTRACT Host utilization patterns of female mosquitoes, and WNV infection rates in male and female mosquitoes, were examined in East Baton Rouge Parish to identify potential vectors of West Nile virus (WNV). A total of 244,374 female mosquitoes were collected between November 2002 and October 2004 and tested by viral isolation. Additionally, 131,896 female mosquitoes were tested by VecTest in 2003, and 167,175 female mosquitoes were tested by RT-PCR in 2004. West Nile virus was isolated from 17 of 36 mosquito species assayed by virus isolation, WNV antigens were detected in 9 of 27 species tested by VecTest, and WNV …
Culture-Independent Identification Of Gut Bacteria In Fourth-Instar Red Imported Fire Ant, Solenopsis Invicta Buren, Larvae, Albert Hon-Yu Lee
Culture-Independent Identification Of Gut Bacteria In Fourth-Instar Red Imported Fire Ant, Solenopsis Invicta Buren, Larvae, Albert Hon-Yu Lee
LSU Doctoral Dissertations
Red imported fire ants (RIFA), Solenopsis invicta Buren, are medical, urban, and agricultural pests from South America. Fourth-instar larvae are used by the colony to digest solid food and then regurgitate it for consumption by workers and queens. Larvae are an ideal source of investigations of obligate endosymbiotic bacteria possibly involved in nutrient distributions. I attempted to first identify what bacteria species are in the guts of larvae followed by antibiotic and microscopy work to further study their roles in the ants. The composition of the bacterial community in fire ant larvae was described with culture-independent methods utilizing 16S rDNA …
Population Ecology Of Pseudacteon Tricuspis Borgmeier (Diptera: Phoridae), An Introduced Parasitoid Of The Red Imported Fire Ant Solenopsis Invicta Buren (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) In Louisiana, Donald Charles Henne
Population Ecology Of Pseudacteon Tricuspis Borgmeier (Diptera: Phoridae), An Introduced Parasitoid Of The Red Imported Fire Ant Solenopsis Invicta Buren (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) In Louisiana, Donald Charles Henne
LSU Doctoral Dissertations
Aspects of the population ecology of a parasitoid (Pseudacteon tricuspis) of the red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta) in Louisiana were studied. The spatio-temporal abundance patterns, dispersal, population spread, aggregation, direct mutual interference and functional response characteristics of this parasitoid were studied to address deficiencies in our knowledge about phorid flies, particularly Pseudacteon parasitoids. This endoparasitoid was discovered to manipulate host ant behavior in ways that benefit its own survival. Laboratory experiments to gain insights into behavioral and functional responses revealed that fly aggregations were density-dependent and interference was not significant when 1-3 females were simultaneously confined with hosts, although …
Detection Of The Bloodmeal Origin Of Mosquitoes Collected At Alligator Farms, And West Nile Virus Activity In Mosquitoes Collected From Alligator Farms, Sentinel Chicken Surveillance Sites, And Larval Habitats, Isik Unlu
LSU Doctoral Dissertations
A three year study was conducted to determine if testing mosquitoes collected in modified sentinel chicken boxes for West Nile Virus (WNV) or testing sentinel chickens for WNV antibody would detect WNV activity prior to reports of human cases in East Baton Rouge (EBR) Parish, Louisiana. In one year we also compared the effectiveness of CDC light traps, gravid traps, and sentinel chicken box traps for collecting WNV positive mosquitoes. In all three years, we detected WNV activity in mosquito collections from sentinel chicken box traps prior to the onset of human cases, while there were no seroconversions in the …