@article{fdi:010062367,
  title = {{E}xplaining the host-finding behavior of blood-sucking insects : computerized simulation of the effects of habitat geometry on tsetse fly movement},
  author = {{V}ale, {G}. {A}. and {H}argrove, {J}. {W}. and {S}olano, {P}hilippe and {C}ourtin, {F}abrice and {R}ayaisse, {J}. {B}. and {L}ehane, {M}. {J}. and {E}sterhuizen, {J}. and {T}irados, {I}. and {T}orr, {S}. {J}.},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{B}ackground: {M}ale and female tsetse flies feed exclusively on vertebrate blood. {W}hile doing so they can transmit the diseases of sleeping sickness in humans and nagana in domestic stock. {K}nowledge of the host-orientated behavior of tsetse is important in designing bait methods of sampling and controlling the flies, and in understanding the epidemiology of the diseases. {F}or this we must explain several puzzling distinctions in the behavior of the different sexes and species of tsetse. {F}or example, why is it that the species occupying savannahs, unlike those of riverine habitats, appear strongly responsive to odor, rely mainly on large hosts, are repelled by humans, and are often shy of alighting on baits? {M}ethodology/{P}rincipal {F}indings: {A} deterministic model that simulated fly mobility and host-finding success suggested that the behavioral distinctions between riverine, savannah and forest tsetse are due largely to habitat size and shape, and the extent to which dense bushes limit occupiable space within the habitats. {T}hese factors seemed effective primarily because they affect the daily displacement of tsetse, reducing it by up to similar to 70%. {S}ex differences in behavior are explicable by females being larger and more mobile than males. {C}onclusion/{S}ignificance: {H}abitat geometry and fly size provide a framework that can unify much of the behavior of all sexes and species of tsetse everywhere. {T}he general expectation is that relatively immobile insects in restricted habitats tend to be less responsive to host odors and more catholic in their diet. {T}his has profound implications for the optimization of bait technology for tsetse, mosquitoes, black flies and tabanids, and for the epidemiology of the diseases they transmit.},
  keywords = {},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{P}los {N}eglected {T}ropical {D}iseases},
  volume = {8},
  numero = {6},
  pages = {e2901},
  ISSN = {1935-2735},
  year = {2014},
  DOI = {10.1371/journal.pntd.0002901},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010062367},
}