3D tracking of mating events in wild swarms of the malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae

Sachit Butail; Nicholas Manoukis; Moussa Diallo; Alpha S Yaro; Adama Dao; Sekou F Traoré; José M Ribeiro; Tovi Lehmann; Derek A Paley

doi:10.1109/IEMBS.2011.6090163

3D tracking of mating events in wild swarms of the malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae

Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2011:2011:720-3. doi: 10.1109/IEMBS.2011.6090163.

Authors

Sachit Butail¹, Nicholas Manoukis, Moussa Diallo, Alpha S Yaro, Adama Dao, Sekou F Traoré, José M Ribeiro, Tovi Lehmann, Derek A Paley

Affiliation

¹ 1Department of Aerospace Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA. fsbutail@umd.edu

Abstract

We describe an automated tracking system that allows us to reconstruct the 3D kinematics of individual mosquitoes in swarms of Anopheles gambiae. The inputs to the tracking system are video streams recorded from a stereo camera system. The tracker uses a two-pass procedure to automatically localize and track mosquitoes within the swarm. A human-in-the-loop step verifies the estimates and connects broken tracks. The tracker performance is illustrated using footage of mating events filmed in Mali in August 2010.

MeSH terms

Animals
Anopheles / anatomy & histology*
Anopheles / physiology*
Crowding
Humans
Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / methods*
Imaging, Three-Dimensional / methods*
Malaria / parasitology
Photography / methods*
Sexual Behavior, Animal / physiology*
Video Recording / methods*

Grants and funding

ZIA AI001062-04/ImNIH/Intramural NIH HHS/United States