The Effect of Larval Diet on Adult Survival, Swarming Activity and Copulation Success in Male Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae)

Abstract

Control of Aedes aegypti (L.) (Diptera: Culicidae) populations is vital for reducing the transmission of several pervasive human diseases. The success of new vector control technologies will be influenced by the fitness of laboratory-reared transgenic males. However, there has been relatively little published data on how rearing practices influence male fitness in Aedes mosquitoes. In the laboratory, the effect of larval food availability on adult male fitness was tested, using a range of different fitness measures. Larval food availability was demonstrated to be positively correlated with adult body size. Larger males survived longer and exhibited greater swarming activity. As a consequence, larger males may have more mating opportunities in the wild. However, we also found that within a swarm larger males did not have an increased likelihood of copulating with a female. The outcome of the mating competition experiments depended on the methodology used to mark the males. These results show that fitness assessment can vary depending on the measure analyzed, and the methodology used to determine it. Continued investigation into these fitness measures and methodologies, and critically, their utility for predicting male performance in the field, will increase the efficiency of vector control programs.

Too “sexy” for the field? Paired measures of laboratory and semi-field performance highlight variability in the apparent mating fitness of Aedes aegypti transgenic strains

“…Larval food quantity is one of the major determinants of adult body size [22], which is associated with a range of life history traits. Larger females are both more fecund and have a greater longevity [23, 24], while male size is positively correlated with sperm production and transfer [25, 26], survival [27], and increased pre-copulatory flight activity [28]. As larvae, mosquitoes also acquire a diverse microbiome from the rearing environment, which influences their development [29, 30] and adult physiology [31].…”

“…Investigations of mating competitiveness in this species are limited. Most have applied laboratory-based assays [28, 58, 59], while those utilising field approaches are relatively few [60, 61]. It is not currently clear which quality control measures are most important for evaluating performance in mosquito release lines, yet larger-scale trials in natural conditions are considered an important tool in this process [55, 62, 63].…”

Arbovirus Vectors of Epidemiological Concern in the Americas: A Scoping Review of Entomological Studies on Zika, Dengue and Chikungunya Virus Vectors

“…Temperature was found to have the largest impact on juvenile mortality, and development was most variable at extreme values of diet and mosquito density. Lang et al [59] experimentally studied the effect of larval food availability on adult Ae. aegypti male fitness and found it to be positively related to larger body size and greater swarming activity in adults.…”

Male competition and the evolution of mating and life history traits in experimental populations ofAedes aegypti

“…Virgin males from each mating regime were lightly dusted [41] for identification. Two 2-5 day old virgin males from the U line and 2 males from either an HMC or NMC population were placed in a cage.…”