Abstract
Caves house pathogenic microorganisms, some of which are transmitted by blood-sucking arthropods. In Africa, previous studies identified mosquitoes, sand flies and biting midges as the main potential vectors of cave-dwelling pathogens. However, to understand their involvement in pathogen spillover, it is crucial to characterize their diversity, community composition and dynamics. Using CDC light traps, we collected hematophagous Diptera in six caves of Gabon during one-shot or longitudinal sampling, and investigated their species diversity and dynamics in relation with external rainfall. Overall, we identified 68 species of mosquitoes, sand flies and biting midges, including 45 new records for Gabon. The dominant species were: Uranotaenia nigromaculata, Anopheles smithii s.l., Culex. rima group and Culex quasiguiarti for mosquitoes, Spelaeophlebotomus gigas and Spelaeomyia emilii for sand flies and the Culicoides trifasciellus group and Culicoides fulvithorax for biting midges. The survey revealed that species assemblages were cave-specific and included mainly troglophilous and trogloxenous species. Both diversity and abundance varied according to the cave and sampling time, and were significantly associated with rainfall. These associations were modulated by the cave specific environmental conditions. Moreover, the presence of trogloxenous and troglophilous species could be of high significance for pathogen transfers between cave and epigeous hosts, including humans.
Highlights
In Africa, previous studies identified mosquitoes, sand flies and biting midges as the main potential vectors of cave-dwelling pathogens
Five sand flies species belonging to the Spelaeophlebotomus (Sl.) Theodor, Phlebotomus (Ph.) Loew and Spelaeomyia (Sa.) Theodor genera have been reported in Afrotropical caves, including Sl. gigas Parrot & Schewtz, Sa. mirabilis Parrot & Wanson, Ph. balmicola Abonnenc, Sa. moucheti
We focused on the diversity and population dynamics of Culicidae, Phlebotominae and Ceratopogonidae in relation with relevant environmental parameters, external rainfall
Summary
In Africa, previous studies identified mosquitoes, sand flies and biting midges as the main potential vectors of cave-dwelling pathogens. To understand their involvement in pathogen spillover, it is crucial to characterize their diversity, community composition and dynamics. We identified 68 species of mosquitoes, sand flies and biting midges, including 45 new records for Gabon. The survey revealed that species assemblages were cave-specific and included mainly troglophilous and trogloxenous species Both diversity and abundance varied according to the cave and sampling time, and were significantly associated with rainfall. Studies carried out in African caves have helped inventorying the main potential vectors among mosquitoes (Culicidae), sand flies (Phlebotominae) and biting midges (Ceratopogonidae)[15,16,17]. Five sand flies species belonging to the Spelaeophlebotomus (Sl.) Theodor, Phlebotomus (Ph.) Loew and Spelaeomyia (Sa.) Theodor genera have been reported in Afrotropical caves, including Sl. gigas Parrot & Schewtz, Sa. mirabilis Parrot & Wanson, Ph. balmicola Abonnenc, Sa. moucheti
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