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Huang J, Feng H, Drake VA, Reynolds DR, Gao B, Chen F, Zhang G, Zhu J, Gao Y, Zhai B, Li G, Tian C, Huang B, Hu G, Chapman JW. Massive seasonal high-altitude migrations of nocturnal insects above the agricultural plains of East China. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2317646121. [PMID: 38648486 PMCID: PMC11067063 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2317646121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2023] [Accepted: 03/13/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Long-distance migrations of insects contribute to ecosystem functioning but also have important economic impacts when the migrants are pests or provide ecosystem services. We combined radar monitoring, aerial sampling, and searchlight trapping, to quantify the annual pattern of nocturnal insect migration above the densely populated agricultural lands of East China. A total of ~9.3 trillion nocturnal insect migrants (15,000 t of biomass), predominantly Lepidoptera, Hemiptera, and Diptera, including many crop pests and disease vectors, fly at heights up to 1 km above this 600 km-wide region every year. Larger migrants (>10 mg) exhibited seasonal reversal of movement directions, comprising northward expansion during spring and summer, followed by southward movements during fall. This north-south transfer was not balanced, however, with southward movement in fall 0.66× that of northward movement in spring and summer. Spring and summer migrations were strongest when the wind had a northward component, while in fall, stronger movements occurred on winds that allowed movement with a southward component; heading directions of larger insects were generally close to the track direction. These findings indicate adaptations leading to movement in seasonally favorable directions. We compare our results from China with similar studies in Europe and North America and conclude that ecological patterns and behavioral adaptations are similar across the Northern Hemisphere. The predominance of pests among these nocturnal migrants has severe implications for food security and grower prosperity throughout this heavily populated region, and knowledge of their migrations is potentially valuable for forecasting pest impacts and planning timely management actions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianrong Huang
- Henan Key Laboratory of Crop Pest Control, Key Laboratory for Integrated Crop Pests Management on Crops in Southern Region of North China, International Joint Research Laboratory for Crop Protection of Henan, No. 0 Entomological Radar Field Scientific Observation and Research Station of Henan Province, Institute of Plant Protection, Henan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Zhengzhou, Henan450002, China
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, and Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter, Penryn, CornwallTR10 9FE, United Kingdom
| | - Hongqiang Feng
- Henan Key Laboratory of Crop Pest Control, Key Laboratory for Integrated Crop Pests Management on Crops in Southern Region of North China, International Joint Research Laboratory for Crop Protection of Henan, No. 0 Entomological Radar Field Scientific Observation and Research Station of Henan Province, Institute of Plant Protection, Henan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Zhengzhou, Henan450002, China
| | - V. Alistair Drake
- School of Science, UNSW Canberra, The University of New South Wales, Canberra, ACT2610, Australia
- Institute for Applied Ecology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Canberra, Canberra, ACT2617, Australia
| | - Don R. Reynolds
- Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich, Chatham, KentME4 4 TB, United Kingdom
- Department of Computational and Analytical Sciences, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, HertsAL5 2JQ, United Kingdom
| | - Boya Gao
- Department of Entomology, College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu210095, China
| | - Fajun Chen
- Department of Entomology, College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu210095, China
| | - Guoyan Zhang
- Plant Protection and Quarantine Station of Henan Province, Zhengzhou, Henan450002, China
| | - Junsheng Zhu
- Shandong Agricultural Technology Extension Center, Jinan, Shandong250100, China
| | - Yuebo Gao
- Department of Entomology, College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu210095, China
- Institute of Plant Protection, Jilin Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Gongzhuling, Jilin136100, China
| | - Baoping Zhai
- Department of Entomology, College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu210095, China
| | - Guoping Li
- Henan Key Laboratory of Crop Pest Control, Key Laboratory for Integrated Crop Pests Management on Crops in Southern Region of North China, International Joint Research Laboratory for Crop Protection of Henan, No. 0 Entomological Radar Field Scientific Observation and Research Station of Henan Province, Institute of Plant Protection, Henan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Zhengzhou, Henan450002, China
| | - Caihong Tian
- Henan Key Laboratory of Crop Pest Control, Key Laboratory for Integrated Crop Pests Management on Crops in Southern Region of North China, International Joint Research Laboratory for Crop Protection of Henan, No. 0 Entomological Radar Field Scientific Observation and Research Station of Henan Province, Institute of Plant Protection, Henan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Zhengzhou, Henan450002, China
| | - Bo Huang
- Henan Key Laboratory of Crop Pest Control, Key Laboratory for Integrated Crop Pests Management on Crops in Southern Region of North China, International Joint Research Laboratory for Crop Protection of Henan, No. 0 Entomological Radar Field Scientific Observation and Research Station of Henan Province, Institute of Plant Protection, Henan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Zhengzhou, Henan450002, China
| | - Gao Hu
- Department of Entomology, College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu210095, China
| | - Jason W. Chapman
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, and Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter, Penryn, CornwallTR10 9FE, United Kingdom
- Department of Entomology, College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu210095, China
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Lehmann T, Kouam C, Woo J, Diallo M, Wilkerson R, Linton YM. The African mosquito-borne diseasosome: geographical patterns, range expansion and future disease emergence. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20231581. [PMID: 38018102 PMCID: PMC10685135 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.1581] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2023] [Accepted: 10/25/2023] [Indexed: 11/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Mosquito-borne diseases (MBDs) threaten public health and food security globally. We provide the first biogeographic description of the African mosquito fauna (677 species) and the 151 mosquito-borne pathogens (MBPs) they transmit. While mosquito species richness agrees with expectations based on Africa's land surface, African arboviruses and mammalian plasmodia are more speciose than expected. Species assemblages of mosquitoes and MBPs similarly separate sub-Saharan Africa from North Africa, and those in West and Central Africa from eastern and southern Africa. Similarities between mosquitoes and MBPs in diversity and range size suggest that mosquitoes are key in delimiting the range of MBPs. With approximately 25% endemicity, approximately 50% occupying one to three countries and less than 5% occupying greater than 25 countries, the ranges of mosquitoes and MBPs are surprisingly small, suggesting that most MBPs are transmitted by a single mosquito species. Exceptionally widespread mosquito species feed on people and livestock, and most are high-altitude-windborne migrants. Likewise, widespread MBPs are transmitted among people or livestock by widespread mosquitoes, suggesting that adapting to people or livestock and to widespread mosquito species promote range expansion in MBPs. Range size may predict range expansion and emergence risk. We highlight key knowledge gaps that impede prediction and mitigation of future emergence of local and global MBDs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tovi Lehmann
- Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, NIAID, NIH, Rockville, MD, USA
| | - Cedric Kouam
- Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, NIAID, NIH, Rockville, MD, USA
| | - Joshua Woo
- Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Mawlouth Diallo
- Pôle de Zoologie Médicale, Institut Pasteur de Dakar, Dakar, Senegal
| | - Richard Wilkerson
- Walter Reed Biosystematics Unit (WRBU), Smithsonian Institution Museum Support Center, Suitland, MD, USA
- Department of Entomology, Smithsonian Institution–National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Yvonne-Marie Linton
- Walter Reed Biosystematics Unit (WRBU), Smithsonian Institution Museum Support Center, Suitland, MD, USA
- Department of Entomology, Smithsonian Institution–National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC, USA
- One Health Branch, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR), Silver Spring, MD, USA
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Lv H, Zhai MY, Zeng J, Zhang YY, Zhu F, Shen HM, Qiu K, Gao BY, Reynolds DR, Chapman JW, Hu G. Changing patterns of the East Asian monsoon drive shifts in migration and abundance of a globally important rice pest. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2023; 29:2655-2668. [PMID: 36794561 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.16636] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2022] [Accepted: 02/03/2023] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Numerous insects including pests and beneficial species undertake windborne migrations over hundreds of kilometers. In East Asia, climate-induced changes in large-scale atmospheric circulation systems are affecting wind-fields and precipitation zones and these, in turn, are changing migration patterns. We examined the consequences in a serious rice pest, the brown planthopper (BPH, Nilaparvata lugens) in East China. BPH cannot overwinter in temperate East Asia, and infestations there are initiated by several waves of windborne spring or summer migrants originating from tropical areas in Indochina. The East Asian summer monsoon, characterized by abundant rainfall and southerly winds, is of critical importance for these northward movements. We analyzed a 42-year dataset of meteorological parameters and catches of BPH from a standardized network of 341 light-traps in South and East China. We show that south of the Yangtze River during summer, southwesterly winds have weakened and rainfall increased, while the summer precipitation has decreased further north on the Jianghuai Plain. Together, these changes have resulted in shorter migratory journeys for BPH leaving South China. As a result, pest outbreaks of BPH in the key rice-growing area of the Lower Yangtze River Valley (LYRV) have declined since 2001. We show that these changes to the East Asian summer monsoon weather parameters are driven by shifts in the position and intensity of the Western Pacific subtropical high (WPSH) system that have occurred during the last 20 years. As a result, the relationship between WPSH intensity and BPH immigration that was previously used to predict the size of the immigration to the LYRV has now broken down. Our results demonstrate that migration patterns of a serious rice pest have shifted in response to the climate-induced changes in precipitation and wind pattern, with significant consequences for the population management of migratory pests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hua Lv
- Department of Entomology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
- State Key Laboratory of Biological Interactions and Crop Health, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
| | - Meng-Yuan Zhai
- Department of Entomology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
- State Key Laboratory of Biological Interactions and Crop Health, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
| | - Juan Zeng
- China National Agro-Tech Extension and Service Center, Beijing, China
| | - Yi-Yang Zhang
- China National Agro-Tech Extension and Service Center, Beijing, China
| | - Feng Zhu
- Plant Protection Station of Jiangsu Province, Nanjing, China
| | - Hui-Mei Shen
- Shanghai Agricultural Technology Extension and Service Center, Shanghai, China
| | - Kun Qiu
- Plant Protection Station of Anhui Province, Hefei, China
| | - Bo-Ya Gao
- Department of Entomology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
- State Key Laboratory of Biological Interactions and Crop Health, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
| | - Don R Reynolds
- Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich, Chatham, UK
- Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, UK
| | - Jason W Chapman
- Department of Entomology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter, Cornwall, UK
| | - Gao Hu
- Department of Entomology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
- State Key Laboratory of Biological Interactions and Crop Health, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
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Okoro OJ, Deme GG, Okoye CO, Eze SC, Odii EC, Gbadegesin JT, Okeke ES, Oyejobi GK, Nyaruaba R, Ebido CC. Understanding key vectors and vector-borne diseases associated with freshwater ecosystem across Africa: Implications for public health. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 862:160732. [PMID: 36509277 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.160732] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2022] [Revised: 11/29/2022] [Accepted: 12/02/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
The emerging and re-emerging vector-borne diseases transmitted by key freshwater organisms have remained a global concern. As one of the leading biodiversity hotspots, the African ecoregion is suggested to harbour the highest number of freshwater organisms globally. Among the commonly found organisms in the African ecoregion are mosquitoes and snails, with a majority of their life cycle in freshwater, and these freshwater organisms can transmit diseases or serve as carriers of devastating diseases of public health concerns. However, synthetic studies to link the evident abundant presence and wide distribution of these vectors across the freshwater ecosystems in Africa with the increasing emerging and re-emerging vector-borne diseases in Africa are still limited. Here, we reviewed documented evidence on vector-borne diseases and their transmission pathways in Africa to reduce the knowledge gap on the factors influencing the increasing emerging and re-emerging vector-borne diseases across Africa. We found the population distributions or abundance of these freshwater organisms to be increasing, which is directly associated with the increasing emerging and re-emerging vector-borne diseases across Africa. Furthermore, we found that although the current changing environmental conditions in Africa affect the habitats of these freshwater organisms, current changing environmental conditions may not be suppressing the population distributions or abundance of these freshwater organisms. Instead, we found that these freshwater organisms are extending their geographic ranges across Africa, which may have significant public health implications in Africa. Thus, our study demonstrates the need for future studies to integrate the environmental conditions of vectors' habitats to understand if these environmental conditions directly or indirectly influence the vectorial capacities and transmission abilities of vectors of diseases. We propose that such studies will be necessary to guide policymakers in making informed policies to help control vector-borne diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Onyekwere Joseph Okoro
- Department of Zoology and Environmental Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Nigeria, Nsukka 410001, Enugu State, Nigeria; Organization of African Academic Doctors (OAAD), P.O. Box 14833-00100, Langata, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Gideon Gywa Deme
- Department of Biology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA; Organization of African Academic Doctors (OAAD), P.O. Box 14833-00100, Langata, Nairobi, Kenya.
| | - Charles Obinwanne Okoye
- Department of Zoology and Environmental Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Nigeria, Nsukka 410001, Enugu State, Nigeria; Biofuels Institute, School of Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China; Organization of African Academic Doctors (OAAD), P.O. Box 14833-00100, Langata, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Sabina Chioma Eze
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Federal University of Health Sciences, Otukpo 972221, Benue State, Nigeria; Organization of African Academic Doctors (OAAD), P.O. Box 14833-00100, Langata, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Elijah Chibueze Odii
- Department of Zoology and Environmental Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Nigeria, Nsukka 410001, Enugu State, Nigeria; Organization of African Academic Doctors (OAAD), P.O. Box 14833-00100, Langata, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Janet Temitope Gbadegesin
- School of Public Health, University of the Western Cape, South Africa; Organization of African Academic Doctors (OAAD), P.O. Box 14833-00100, Langata, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Emmanuel Sunday Okeke
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Nigeria, Nsukka 410001, Enugu State, Nigeria; Natural Science Unit, School of General Studies, University of Nigeria, Nsukka 410001, Enugu State, Nigeria; Institute of Environmental Health and Ecological Security, School of Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China; Organization of African Academic Doctors (OAAD), P.O. Box 14833-00100, Langata, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Greater Kayode Oyejobi
- Key Laboratory of Special Pathogens and Biosafety, Centre for Biosafety Mega-Science, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, Hubei, China; Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Basic and Applied Sciences, Osun State University, Osogbo 230212, Osun State, Nigeria; Organization of African Academic Doctors (OAAD), P.O. Box 14833-00100, Langata, Nairobi, Kenya; School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Wuhan University, Hubei, P.R. China. 430072
| | - Raphael Nyaruaba
- Key Laboratory of Special Pathogens and Biosafety, Centre for Biosafety Mega-Science, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, Hubei, China; Organization of African Academic Doctors (OAAD), P.O. Box 14833-00100, Langata, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Chike Chukwuenyem Ebido
- Department of Zoology and Environmental Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Nigeria, Nsukka 410001, Enugu State, Nigeria; Organization of African Academic Doctors (OAAD), P.O. Box 14833-00100, Langata, Nairobi, Kenya.
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