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Background  A neglected aspect of alien invasive plant species is their influence on mosquito vector ecology and malaria transmission. Invasive plants that are highly attractive to  Anopheles  mosquitoes provide them with sugar that is critical to their survival. The effect on  Anopheles  mosquito populations was examined through a habitat manipulation experiment that removed the flowering branches of highly attractive  Prosopis juliflora  from selected villages in Mali, West Africa.    Methods  Nine villages in the Bandiagara district of Mali were selected, six with flowering  Prosopis juliflora , and three without. CDC-UV light traps were used to monitor their  Anopheles  spp. vector populations, and recorded their species composition, population size, age structure, and sugar feeding status. After 8 days, all of the flowering branches were removed from three villages and trap catches were analysed again.    Results  Villages where flowering branches of the invasive shrub  Prosopis juliflora  were removed experienced a threefold drop in the older more dangerous  Anopheles  females. Population density dropped by 69.4% and the species composition shifted from being a mix of three species of the  Anopheles gambiae  complex to one dominated by  Anopheles coluzzii . The proportion of sugar fed females dropped from 73 to 15% and males from 77 to 10%.    Conclusions  This study demonstrates how an invasive plant shrub promotes the malaria parasite transmission capacity of African malaria vector mosquitoes. Proper management of invasive plants could potentially reduce mosquito populations and malaria transmission.

The invasive shrub Prosopis juliflora enhances the malaria parasite transmission capacity of Anopheles mosquitoes: a habitat manipulation experiment