Please could you briefly explain the results of your research?

In order to explain the results, it is important to put them in context of the study we carried out. Basically, our study was a novel combination of natural comparisons and manipulative experiments. The effect on Anopheles mosquito populations was examined through a habitat manipulation experiment that removed the flowering branches of highly attractiveProsopis Juliflora来自西非马里的选定村庄。

我们从以前的经验中知道，疟疾媒介Anopheles gambiae富含糖的植物的存在，特别是在干旱季节中。然而，蚊子成分的变化在植物的花朵去除后是一个特别有趣的观察，以及人口密度，年龄结构和糖喂养状态的急剧变化。

…我们的研究提供了第一个基于现场的确定证据，表明疟疾载体物种一个。冈比亚complex during the dry season use the sugar present in nectar of an invasive alien shrub,Prosopis Juliflora。

为了将其在上下文中，我们发现侵入灌木开花的村庄P. juliflora被删除的较老的危险性按摩虫雌性遭受了三倍的降低，这些雌性是疟疾的主要携带者。蚊子总人口密度下降了69.4％，物种组成从三种物种的混合物转变为Anopheles gambiaecomplex to one dominated by一个。coluzzii。The proportion of sugar fed females dropped from 73% to 15% and males from 77% to 10%. The results are extremely important because, to our knowledge, our study provides the first field-based definitive evidence that malaria vector species of the一个。冈比亚complex during the dry season use the sugar present in nectar of an invasive alien shrub,Prosopis Juliflora。We also show this source contributes significantly to the malaria transmission potential of vector species by contributing to the longevity and reproductive capacity of males and females. The ability ofP. juliflora全年生存和花朵，包括在干旱季节，可能会有效地延长入侵地区的疟疾传播季节，因此这一新发现对疟疾的控制工作有影响。

Why are invasive plants beneficial to vectors such as the Anopheles mosquito?

大多数侵入性植物在给定的栖息地中丰富而普遍 - 比本地或土著物种更重要。它们不仅生长迅速，而且产生的花和种子比其本地同源物多。此外，与天然植物相比，侵入性植物的生长期往往延长，并且在许多情况下，开花也明显更长的时间。因此，与不存在侵入性物种相比，蚊子受益于大量花的丰富度，并在长得多长的时间内产生的花蜜，并具有大量的花蜜供应。这将有助于增加蚊子丰度和矢量能力 - 所有其他相同的东西可能会将社区中疟疾发病率的时期延长几个月。但是，应注意的是，并非所有侵入性植物都对蚊子有吸引力。

Why did you look at the invasive plantProsopis Julifloraspecifically? Can your results be extrapolated to invasive plants in general, or are they more specific?

Prosopis Juliflora它的杂种在世界许多地方都广泛而丰富，包括非洲的许多半干旱地区。实际上，在马里，尼日尔，苏丹，索马里，吉布提，埃塞俄比亚，肯尼亚，肯尼亚，坦桑尼亚，马拉维和莫桑比克，它被认为是侵入性的。这是极具侵入性的事实，侵犯了数百万公顷的土地，形成了庞大的单一栽培，这使其成为此类研究的理想候选人。此外，先前的研究表明，它对蚊子蚊有吸引力，但从未进行过任何研究来验证这一初步发现。

有迹象表明其他侵入性植物，例如饥荒杂草（Parthenium hysterophorus），蜡烛灌木（Senna didymobotrya），，，，castor-oil plant (Ricinus communis），其他人也对蚊子有吸引力，但其他人则没有。但是，很少有测试 - 非洲有数百种侵入性植物。因此，需要进行更多的研究，以确定哪些侵入性植物对蚊子有吸引力。正如我上面解释的那样，使它们都相似的原因是它们是广泛而丰富的，在长时间内产生了很多花和种子，与本地同类物相比，它们积极生长更长的时间。

How did local people react to your study? Do they find the invasive shrub a nuisance, or has it become useful to the local economy?

Prosopisspecies were, in most cases, initially introduced to restore degraded lands. They have also been promoted as a source of fuelwood and their pods can be used to feed for livestock in limited quantities. However, they also have negative impacts. Dense stands reduce the amount of forage for livestock and displace other valuable plant species; invasions significantly reduce underground water resources; plants encroach on paths, villages, homes, crop- and pasturelands; invasions have contributed to the abandonment of agricultural land, and in some cases of homes and small villages; the pollen has been identified as a major allergen and the thorns can cause serious injuries. In factP. juliflora已经耗尽了成千上万人依赖的自然资源，在资源减少的情况下产生了社区之间的冲突。

Although no impact studies have been undertaken in Mali we assume that impacts will be similar to those recorded elsewhere. The findings of this study may give impetus to communities in Mali to control prosopis.

That being said, theP. julifloraproblem in Mali has not reached the widescale level that it has in other countries such as South Africa. Though some useP. juliflorafor fuelwood, the locals in Mali did not see the presence of the shrub as particularly positive or negative. We did make sure to consult with communities about the nature and purposes of the study obtaining permission before removing the flowering branches, and when the villagers were made aware of theP. juliflora在其他国家遇到的问题，他们变得非常关心

您将向公众和地方当局推荐什么行动Prosopis Juliflora，，，，specifically, and invasive plants in general?

In a nutshell – create awareness about the negative impacts of invasiveProsopis物种并引发控制，重点是引入宿主特异性和破坏性生物控制剂。

侵入性植物管理的最大障碍，尤其是在发展中国家，缺乏政策或实施；对入侵物种构成的威胁的认识很少；解决问题的能力不足；缺乏管理活动。我们必须制定和执行适当的政策；对存在哪些侵入性植物，有问题以及它们的影响是什么；提供有关如何最好地控制它们的培训；并制定和实施管理策略。后者应包括预防（我们需要首先防止引入侵入性植物）；及早发现新入侵的监视，以便可以包含并可以消除它们； and finally control which should follow an integrated approach (the use of cultural, manual, chemical and biological control, preferably in combination). Biological control, which is the use of host specific and damaging natural enemies, should be actively promoted, especially in the case of invasiveProsopis物种 - 这是最具成本效益和可持续的管理干预措施。

In a nutshell – create awareness about the negative impacts of invasiveProsopis物种并引发控制，重点是引入宿主特异性和破坏性生物控制剂。

Are there native plants that reduce malaria transmissions? And if so, are they being pushed out by successful invasive plants?

To our knowledge there are no native or ornamental plants that reduce Malaria transmission.

您将在研究中看什么？

我们将寻找使用一种称为有吸引力的有毒糖诱饵（ATSB）工具的方法，该工具使用具有口服杀虫剂“尖刺”的植物挥发物，并与糖（作为喂养刺激剂）混合来吸引和杀死蚊子。当在吸引人的花朵上喷洒或用作便携式诱饵站，ATSB在减少以色列的急流和库利氨酸种群方面非常成功。我们将寻找将ATSB与高朱利夫洛拉（P. Juliflora）等高度吸引人的入侵者结合使用的方法来杀死这些危险的蚊子。