Invasive mosquitoes, larval competition, and indirect effects on the vector competence of native mosquito species (Diptera: Culicidae)

Abstract

Invasive arthropods that vector pathogens have the potential to influence pathogen transmission both directly, by becoming a novel pathogen vector, or indirectly, by interacting with native vectors. Adult mosquito size is influenced by food availability in the larval stage, and smaller, nutrient-deprived mosquitoes are, in some studies, more efficient viral vectors in the laboratory. This is the first study to examine the indirect impacts that larval competition between Aedes albopictus, an introduced mosquito species, and Ochlerotatus triseriatus, a native mosquito species and the primary vector for La Crosse virus (LACV) in the US, has on native mosquito larval survival, adult size, and vector competence. A. albopictus presence decreased Oc. triseriatus larval survival, but surviving Oc. triseriatus females were larger, potentially owing to a release from intraspecific competition. These larger, native females were more likely to develop both midgut and disseminated LACV infections than females emerging from monospecific treatments. Collectively, these results suggest a need to better understand the ecology of both native and invasive vector species, their interactions, and the potential for those interactions to alter vector-borne disease transmission.