Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-t5tsf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-14T04:45:01.519Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

THE EFFECT OF CONSPECIFICS ON OVIPOSITION SITE SELECTION AND OVIPOSITION BEHAVIOUR IN AEDES TOGOI (THEOBOLD) (DIPTERA: CULICIDAE)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 May 2012

David Y. Onyabe  and
Bernard D. Roitberg
David Y. Onyabe
Affiliation:
Centre for Pest Management, and Behavioural Ecology Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada V5A 1S6
Bernard D. Roitberg*
Affiliation:
Centre for Pest Management, and Behavioural Ecology Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada V5A 1S6
*
1Author to whom all correspondence should be addressed.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Two opposing hypotheses are tested regarding the choice of oviposition sites by female Aedes togoi (Theobold) mosquitoes: (i) conspecific avoidance—females discriminate against sites harboring conspecifics to reduce intraspecific competition for their offspring and (ii) conspecific attraction—females prefer sites with conspecifics because their presence indicates suitable conditions for larvae. Under laboratory conditions, A. togoi females laid many more eggs on rearing water (LRW) containing conspecific larvae, their waste, bacteria, and food supplements than on rearing water alone (RM). In another experiment, females showed an oviposition preference for LRW sites that were devoid of A. togoi eggs compared with those harboring 50 (0.3 eggs/mL) conspecific eggs. Further, it was discovered that females laid their eggs at several sites rather than at a single suitable site. Possible reasons for such choices are discussed.

Résumé

Nous avons éprouvé deux hypothèses contraires au sujet du choix d’un site de ponte chez les femelles d’Aedes togoi (Theobold) : (i) la fuite des individus conspécifiques—les femelles évitent les sites occupés par des conspécifiques de façon à réduire la compétition intraspécifique chez leurs rejetons et (ii) l’attirance pour les individus conspécifiques—les femelles préfèrent les sites déjà occupés par des conspécifiques parce que leur présence est indicatrice de conditions favorables pour les larves. Dans des conditions de laboratoire, des femelles d’A. togoi ont pondu beaucoup plus d’oeufs dans de l’eau d’élevage (LRW) contenant des larves conspécifiques, leurs excréments, leurs bactéries et leurs suppléments alimentaires que dans de l’eau d’élevage pure (RM). Au cours d’une autre expérience, les femelles ont manifesté des préférences pour les sites LRW ne contenant pas d’oeufs d’A. togoi plutôt que pour les sites contenant déjà 50 (0,3 oeufs/mL) oeufs conspécifiques. De plus, nous avons constaté que les femelles pondaient leurs oeufs à plusieurs endroits plutôt qu’à un seul site favorable. Nous examinons les raisons possibles de ces comportements multiples, propres à équilibrer les risques.

[Traduit par la Rédaction]

Type
Articles
Information
The Canadian Entomologist , Volume 129 , Issue 6 , December 1997 , pp. 1173 - 1176
Copyright
Copyright © Entomological Society of Canada 1997

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Belton, P. 1980. The first record of Aedes togoi (Theo.) in the United States—aboriginal or ferry passenger? Mosquito News 40: 624–626.Google Scholar
Blaustein, L., and Kotler, B.P.. 1993. Oviposition habitat selection by the mosquito, Culiseta longiareolata: effects of conspecifics, food and green toad tadpoles. Ecological Entomology 18: 104–108.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bruno, D.W., and Laurence, B.R.. 1979. The influence of the apical droplet of Culex egg rafts on oviposition of Culex pipiens fatigans (Diptera: Culicidae). Journal of Medical Entomology 16: 300–305.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Charnov, E.L., and Skinner, S.W.. 1985. Complementary approaches to the understanding of parasitoid oviposition decisions. Environmental Entomology 14: 383–391.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Laurence, B.R., and Pickett, J.A.. 1982. Erythro-6-acetoxy-5-hexadecanolide, the major component of a mosquito oviposition attractant pheromone. Journal of the Chemical Society Chemical Communications 1: 59–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McCrae, A.W.R. 1984. Oviposition by African malaria vector mosquitoes. II. Effects of site tone, water type, and conspecific immatures on target selection by freshwater Anopheles gambiae Giles, sensu lato. Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology 78: 307–318.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Osgood, C.E. 1971. An oviposition pheromone associated with the egg rafts of Culex tarsalis. Journal of Economic Entomology 64: 1038–1041.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Reisen, W.K. 1975. Intraspecific competition in Anopheles stephensi Liston. Mosquito News 35: 473–482.Google Scholar
Reiter, P., Amador, M.A.Anderson, R.A., and Clark, G.G.. 1995. Short report: Dispersal of Aedes aegypti in an urban area after blood feeding as demonstrated by rubidium-marked eggs. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 52: 177–179.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Seger, J., and Brockmann, H.J.. 1987. What is bet-hedging? pp. 182–211in Harvey, P.H., and Partridge, L. (Eds.), Oxford Surveys in Evolutionary Biology 4. Oxford University Press, Oxford, England.Google Scholar
Trimble, R.M., and Wellington, W.G.. 1979. Laboratory colonization of North American Aedes togoi. Mosquito News 39: 18–20.Google Scholar
Trimble, R.M., and Wellington, W.G.. 1980. Oviposition stimulant associated with fourth-instar larvae of Aedes togoi (Diptera: Culicidae). Journal of Medical Entomology 17: 509–514.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zar, J.H. 1984. Biostatistical Analysis. Prentice-Hall Inc., Engelwood Cliffs, NJ.Google Scholar