Marking mosquitoes in their natural larval sites using 2H-enriched water: a promising approach for tracking over extended temporal and spatial scales

1. Background. Tracking mosquitoes using current methods of mark-release-recapture are limited to small spatial and temporal scales exposing major gaps in understanding long-range movements and extended survival. Novel approaches to track mosquitoes may yield fresh insights into their biology which improves intervention activities to reduce disease transmission. Stable isotope enrichment of natural mosquito breeding sites allows large-scale marking of wild mosquitoes absent human handling. Mosquito larvae that develop in 2H-enriched water are expected to be detectable for over four months using tissue mass-fraction 2H measurements, providing opportunities for long-term mark-capture studies on a large scale. 2. Approach. A laboratory study followed by a field experiment of mosquito larval habitat 2H-enrichment was conducted in Mali, to evaluate potential labeling of wild mosquitoes. Twelve natural larval sites were enriched using [2H]-Deuterium-oxide (D2O, 99%). Enrichment level was ma...