Vector bionomics and vectorial capacity as emergent properties of mosquito behaviors and ecology
Fig 1
Structure of an activity bout.
Top) MBITES and MBDETES model mosquito behavioral states and state transitions required for the gonotrophic cycle. The first two columnns list the behavioral states, and the last two columns describe the potential state transitions. A mosquito is either searching for a blood host (F) or attempting to blood feed (B), searching for aquatic habitat (L) or attempting to oviposit (O), or resting (R). Transitions depend on whether the last bout was a success or failure, and optionally on refeeding behavior† or laying a partial egg batch and skip oviposit‡. The next activity bout is also affected by whether a mosquito decides to make an attempt or initiate a search*. Bottom) In MBITES models, each behavioral state has an associated activity bout that has a common structure, as illustrated in the diagram. The activity bout involves a sequence of four phases: launch, do an activity (either a search or an attempt), land, and rest. The type of activity is determined both by its behavioral state and by presence and availability of resources. A mosquito will stay (S) unless there are no resources present or if the mosquito has become frustrated (*), in which case it will initiate a search. If the mosquito decides to stay, it makes a choice and an approach that may or may not succeed at what it was trying to do. When a mosquito lands, it selects a micro-site for a resting spot from the set of possibilities at that site. During the resting period, data from the last bout are logged, the behavioral state is updated, and the waiting time to the next launch is determined. A mosquito enters the bout either after emerging from aquatic habitat or after exiting its previous bout and surviving.