Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28120806›Full record

ReviewBiology letters2016

Biodiversity and ecosystem risks arising from using guppies to control mosquitoes.

Rana W El-Sabaawi, Therese C Frauendorf, Piata S Marques, Richard A Mackenzie, Luisa R Manna, Rosana Mazzoni, Dawn A T Phillip, Misha L Warbanski, Eugenia Zandonà

Open access · bronzeAbstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Biology letters, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
11citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
3.3field-weighted citation impact, top 7% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 72 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Review
  5. Article
  6. Invasion and rapid adaptation of guppies (Evolutionary applications · 2021
    Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Review
  11. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 4 institutions in 4 countries.

Rana W El-SabaawiDepartment of Biology, University of Victoria, PO Box 1700, Station CSC, Victoria, Canada BC V8 W 2Y2 rana@uvic.ca.ORCID 0000-0002-0561-1068
Therese C FrauendorfDepartment of Biology, University of Victoria, PO Box 1700, Station CSC, Victoria, Canada BC V8 W 2Y2.
Piata S MarquesDepartment of Biology, University of Victoria, PO Box 1700, Station CSC, Victoria, Canada BC V8 W 2Y2.
Richard A MackenzieInstitute of Pacific Islands Forestry, Pacific Southwest Research Station, USDA Forest Service, Hilo, HI 96720, USA.
Luisa R MannaDepartamento de Ecologia, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rua São Francisco Xavier 524, Maracanã, 20550-900, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Rosana MazzoniDepartamento de Ecologia, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rua São Francisco Xavier 524, Maracanã, 20550-900, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Dawn A T PhillipDepartment of Life Sciences, The University of the West Indies, St Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies.
Misha L WarbanskiDepartment of Biology, University of Victoria, PO Box 1700, Station CSC, Victoria, Canada BC V8 W 2Y2.
Eugenia ZandonàDepartamento de Ecologia, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rua São Francisco Xavier 524, Maracanã, 20550-900, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
University of Victoria · CAUniversidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro · BRPacific Southwest Research Station · USUniversity of the West Indies · TT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Deploying mosquito predators such as the guppy (Poecilia reticulata) into bodies of water where mosquitoes breed is a common strategy for limiting the spread of disease-carrying mosquitoes. Here, we draw on studies from epidemiology, conservation, ecology and evolution to show that the evidence for the effectiveness of guppies in controlling mosquitoes is weak, that the chances of accidental guppy introduction into local ecosystems are large, and that guppies can easily establish populations and damage these aquatic ecosystems. We highlight several knowledge and implementation gaps, and urge that this approach is either abandoned in favour of more effective strategies or that it is used much more rigorously. Controlling mosquitoes does not need to come at the expense of freshwater biodiversity.

Indexed as

BiodiversityEcosystemPoeciliaAnimalsIntroduced SpeciesMosquito Controldengueecosystem serviceinvasionmalariaZika

Identifiers

PMID28120806
PMCPMC5095194
OpenAlexW2542918300

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.