Galapagos reptiles under new threat
Viruses and other mosquito-born diseases are known threats to the native bird life of the Galapagos. This prompted authorities to introduce spraying on aircraft flying to the islands. Now, there is a new development, the adaptation of a mosquito that can feed on reptiles.
Scientific American reports:
“The most widespread mosquito on the Galápagos Islands appears to have developed a taste for reptile blood. Biologists fear that the newly discovered behavior may leave many of the islands’ rare reptiles at risk for mosquito-borne diseases, such as West Nile virus, that they haven’t adapted to cope with.
A study published online today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA reports that the black salt marsh mosquito (Aedes taeniorhynchus), which feeds on birds and mammals and is common along the coasts of North and South America, is now also feasting on the blood of marine iguanas and Galápagos tortoises. ”