Can the tortoise beat the hare? A possible mechanism for the coexistence of competing mosquitoes in bamboo groves

Abstract

AbstractWe studied interspecific competition between the larvae of the two mosquitoes Aedes albopictus and Tripteroides bambusa, which are predominantly found in water‐filled bamboo stumps in northern Kyushu, south‐western Japan, using microcosms with dead bamboo leaves in the laboratory. We compared short‐term competition between single cohorts of the two species and long‐term competition involving four cohorts of each species, which were introduced at 6‐day intervals. In the single cohort experiment, A. albopictus grew faster than T. bambusa. However, in the multiple cohort experiment, although the first cohort of A. albopictus grew faster and began to pupate earlier than that of T. bambusa, molting rates of later cohorts of A. albopictus, that were introduced on the 12th and the 18th day, were lower than those of T. bambusa. The survival rate of A. albopictus became lower than that of T. bambusa after the 18th day. The cumulative number of the pupated T. bambusa individuals exceeded that of A. albopictus on the 96th day. The final pupation success was higher in T. bambusa than in A. albopictus, especially when additional leaves were supplied on the 48th and the 96th days. The reversed outcomes between short‐ and long‐term interspecific competition and the variation in the lifespans of small aquatic sites may contribute to the coexistence of the two mosquito species in bamboo groves.