Abstract
BackgroundWith Aedes aegypti mosquitoes now being released in field programmes aimed at disease suppression, there is interest in identifying factors influencing the mating and invasion success of released mosquitoes. One factor that can increase release success is size: released males may benefit competitively from being larger than their field counterparts. However, there could be a risk in releasing only large males if small field females avoid these males and instead prefer small males. Here we investigate this risk by evaluating mating success for mosquitoes differing in size.ResultsWe measured mating success indirectly by coupling size with Wolbachia-infected or uninfected mosquitoes and scoring cytoplasmic incompatibility. Large females showed no evidence of a mating preference, whereas small males were relatively more successful than large males when mating with small females, exhibiting an advantage of around 20–25%.ConclusionsBecause field females typically encompass a wide range of sizes while laboratory reared (and released) males typically fall into a narrow size range of large mosquitoes, these patterns can influence the success of release programmes which rely on cytoplasmic incompatibility to suppress populations and initiate replacement invasions. Releases could include some small males generated under low food or crowded conditions to counter this issue, although this would need to be weighed against issues associated with costs of producing males of various size classes.
Highlights
With Aedes aegypti mosquitoes being released in field programmes aimed at disease suppression, there is interest in identifying factors influencing the mating and invasion success of released mosquitoes
Approaches include replacement strategies aimed at introducing Wolbachia infected mosquitoes that directly interfere with viral transmission [1, 2], and population suppression programmes that aim to release males that induce sterility through irradiation of males [3, 4] or incompatibility generated through Wolbachia [5, 6] which are currently underway
Pupae were removed from trays daily and placed into round plastic containers with 200 ml of water, and adults from each sex, size class and Wolbachia infection type were left to emerge into separate 19.7-l BugDorm-1® cages (MegaView Science Co., Ltd., Taichung City, Xitun District, Taiwan)
Summary
With Aedes aegypti mosquitoes being released in field programmes aimed at disease suppression, there is interest in identifying factors influencing the mating and invasion success of released mosquitoes. There could be a risk in releasing only large males if small field females avoid these males and instead prefer small males We investigate this risk by evaluating mating success for mosquitoes differing in size. Other future possibilities include population suppression through the introduction of In these strategies, it is essential to release mosquitoes that can compete with those in natural populations, facilitating the replacement of one type of mosquito by another and/or the suppression through the induction of male sterility. Most of these effects have not been studied much in the context of mosquito releases, except for body size [20]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
