Question

Female \textit{Anopheles mosquitoes bite humans to get blood. Researchers performed an experiment to study whether female mosquitoes use temperature or scent, or both, when locating human hosts. They presented female mosquitoes with membranes kept at different temperatures. Some membranes had human scent applied to them. The response to each treatment was measured as the percentage of females that landed on the membrane (50 females for each treatment). The table shows the treatments and the corresponding responses.}

• A. Human scent cues are necessary to locate human hosts.
• B. Human scent cues are sufficient to locate human hosts.
• C. Human body temperature cues are necessary to locate human hosts.
• D. Human body temperature cues are sufficient to locate human hosts.

Hint:

When evaluating sensory cues for vector-host interactions, consider both independent and combined effects of environmental factors such as temperature and scent to fully understand their roles in host detection.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B, D

Analysis of Experimental Data: The experiment involved varying both temperature and the presence of human scent, yielding the following responses: - At ambient temperature with human scent, there was a high response (90%), indicating attraction. - At ambient temperature without human scent, there was no response (0%), showing lack of attraction. - At human body temperature with or without human scent, the response was high (90%), suggesting strong attraction due to temperature. Inferences Drawn: - Human scent alone is sufficient to attract mosquitoes, as evidenced by the response at lower temperatures. - Human body temperature alone is also sufficient, as mosquitoes responded highly even without the human scent at body temperature.