Oviposition response of <i>Simulium reptans</i> (Diptera: Simuliidae) to the presence of conspecific eggs

Coupland, James B.

doi:10.1111/j.1365-2311.1991.tb00187.x

Cited by 12 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 12 publications

(10 reference statements)

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“…Swarming behaviour is common in insects and has been reported to be widespread in aquatic species (e.g. Coupland 1991;Tokeshi and Reinhardt 1996;Kriska et al 1998). The motivation for this behind behaviour is uncertain.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Whilst broad patterns of oviposition site selection have been reported for a number of common lotic macroinvertebrates (e.g. Badcock 1953;Golini and Davies 1975;Otto 1987;Coupland 1991;Peckarsky et al 2000), few studies have sought to isolate the specific mechanisms involved (but see Gibbons and Pain 1992;Siva-Jothy et al 1995) or explore the ultimate consequences of such behaviour.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Experimental evidence for physical cues involved in oviposition site selection of lotic hydrobiosid caddis flies

Reich

Downes

2003

Oecologia

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Cues involved in determining the distribution of invertebrate propagules within a stream landscape contribute greatly to our knowledge of the supply and arrangement of new recruits and thus an improved understanding of factors that might ultimately affect population parameters. Previous observations indicated that both current velocity and rock size were important determinants of the egg mass distribution of certain hydrobiosid caddis flies that lay their eggs in single masses beneath emergent rocks. These observations were tested experimentally in a temperate, upland Australian stream. Manipulations of current speed confirmed that females of Ulmerochorema sp. and the Taschorema complex deposited more eggs on rocks in elevated current speeds (>0.40 ms(-1)) whereas Apsilochorema sp. deposited more eggs on rocks in slow currents (<0.30 ms(-1)). This latter result did not coincide with previous observational data. The anomaly between observational and experimental data, however, was reconciled by the outcome of a further experiment that tested the influence of the emergent or 'landing pad' size of rocks as the abundance of Apsilochorema egg masses increased with landing pad size independent of the prevailing flow conditions. Landing pad size did not influence the abundance of egg masses of Taschorema or Ulmerochorema. Patterns of female visits to rocks indicated that taxa might distinguish between favoured egg-laying sites prior to landing on rocks. Large aggregations of adult male and female Ulmerochorema collected from rocks favoured for oviposition provide indirect evidence for mating induced swarming behaviour associated with oviposition site selection. This study provides a framework for more sophisticated questions relating to the influence of oviposition site selection on structuring populations of lotic macroinvertebrates.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental evidence for physical cues involved in oviposition site selection of lotic hydrobiosid caddis flies

Reich

Downes

2003

Oecologia

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“…Egg masses are often highly aggregated, however, with the majority found on just a few of the available oviposition sites, and many seemingly suitable sites have few or no eggs. Such aggregations have been observed in diverse groups of aquatic insects that oviposit on emergent objects, including some caddisflies (Hoffmann & Resh, 2003;Reich & Downes, 2003b;Lancaster et al, 2010a), mayflies (Encalada & Peckarsky, 2006;Lancaster et al, 2010b) and blackflies (Muirhead-Thomson, 1956;Coupland, 1991). Thus, from a population perspective, most 'births' in these species occur in a very few locations and an understanding of their population dynamics requires knowledge about how egg mass aggregations arise (Floater, 2001;Doody et al, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…For many such species, the characteristics of their oviposition sites are well known, at least in general terms. For example, some baetid mayflies and some caddisflies oviposit primarily on large emergent rocks surrounded by fastflowing water (Hoffmann & Resh, 2003;Reich & Downes, 2003b;Encalada & Peckarsky, 2006), some other caddisflies oviposit on emergent rocks in slow flows (Reich & Downes, 2003b), some Odonata oviposit endophytically on plants in fast flows (Gibbons & Pain, 1992;Siva-Jothy et al, 1995), and some simuliids oviposit on trailing vegetation or other substrata (Golini & Davies, 1987;Coupland, 1991).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Environmental cues or conspecific attraction as causes for egg mass aggregation in hydrobiosid caddisflies

et al. 2010

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The distribution of egg masses throughout the environment can strongly influence the population dynamics of aquatic insects. Many species lay eggs in aggregations and most eggs will subsequently hatch from only a few locations-knowing how and why these aggregations arise is therefore needed to understand the population dynamics of these species. The hydrobiosid caddisfly Ulmerochorema rubiconum lays eggs in large aggregations on the undersides of emergent rocks in streams. Our aim was to test whether females oviposit in response to conspecific egg masses or the environmental characteristics of rocks by manipulating the number and age of egg masses initially present on rocks and monitoring the accumulation of new masses. Our first experiment used rocks that had recently been used for oviposition and initial egg masses encompassed a range of ages; our second used rocks with no history of oviposition and initial masses of uniform age. Females did not respond to conspecific eggs of any age, as removing initial egg masses had no impact on the number of new masses laid in either experiment. There was a strong positive relationship between the number of initial and new masses, regardless of whether initial egg masses were removed, at the scale of whole rocks and for rock microhabitats. The results suggest that females select oviposition sites based primarily on physical characteristics of emergent rocks. We demonstrate for the first time that the spatial arrangement of egg masses may be consistent and predictable through time, with females showing a high degree of fidelity for particular rocks and microhabitats.

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“…Such aggregations have been observed in diverse groups of aquatic insects, including some caddisflies (Hoffmann & Resh, 2003;Reich & Downes, 2003b), mayflies (Encalada & Peckarsky, 2006;Lancaster et al, 2010) and black flies (Muirhead-Thomson, 1956;Coupland, 1991), and this behaviour is often called communal egg-laying, regardless of whether multiple females oviposit simultaneously (Doody et al, 2009). [Note, communal egg-laying involves multiple individuals ovipositing close together and differs from 'egg-clustering', a term often used to describe the behaviour of single individuals that lay eggs in batches instead of one at a time (Stamp, 1980;Courtney, 1984)].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Oviposition site selectivity of some stream-dwelling caddisflies

2010

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Population dynamics depends upon the spatial distribution of individuals in heterogeneous environments. The various processes surrounding insect oviposition are central to understanding their population dynamics because the choice of oviposition site ultimately influences the survivorship and spatial distribution of their progeny. Aquatic insects are often assumed to have non-selective oviposition habits, but empirical data are scarce and selective oviposition may be quite common. We quantitatively sampled egg masses of stream-dwelling caddisflies (Trichoptera) that specialise in egg-laying on hard substrata underwater, in order to characterise oviposition site selectivity and test for communal oviposition. In a field survey of two Scottish streams, we sampled egg masses of three species, Polycentropus flavomaculatus, Hydropsyche siltalai, Rhyacophila dorsalis, with the aim of testing whether egg mass abundance varied with current (riffles vs. pools), location within the channel (margins vs. centre) and rock exposure (emergent vs. fully submerged). In one stream, we captured adults landing on emergent rocks and assessed whether females were modified morphologically for swimming. The egg masses of two species (P. flavomaculatus, H. siltalai) occurred primarily on submerged rocks in pool margins, and adult females had legs modified for swimming. In contrast, egg masses of R. dorsalis were most abundant on the underside of emergent rocks in riffles, and females were not modified for swimming. Communal oviposition was evident for all three species, with most egg masses aggregated on the minority of potential rocks. How females locate oviposition sites and the consequences of these highly specialised oviposition behaviours to the survival and spatial distribution of larvae now require investigation. The effects of these behaviours on population dynamics are likely to differ from terrestrial herbivores because oviposition sites are not food resources for these aquatic species.

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Oviposition response of Simulium reptans (Diptera: Simuliidae) to the presence of conspecific eggs

Cited by 12 publications

References 12 publications

Experimental evidence for physical cues involved in oviposition site selection of lotic hydrobiosid caddis flies

Experimental evidence for physical cues involved in oviposition site selection of lotic hydrobiosid caddis flies

Environmental cues or conspecific attraction as causes for egg mass aggregation in hydrobiosid caddisflies

Oviposition site selectivity of some stream-dwelling caddisflies

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