Department of System Ecotoxicology, Umwelt Forschung Zentrum, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Permoserstrasse 15, D-04318 Leipzig, Germany.
J Med Entomol. 2011 May;48(3):554-60. doi: 10.1603/me09282.
This study assesses the potential of cladocerans as competitors for controlling the oviposition and larval abundances of mosquitoes. Control of mosquito larvae involving the use of antagonists has focused mostly on predators. We hypothesized that cladoceran competitors have a strong potential to control larval populations of some species of mosquitoes that can be early colonizers of newly-filled waterbodies, and should be less efficient competitors. To test this hypothesis, the establishment and development of larval populations of wild Culex pipiens were investigated in outdoor microcosms varying in terms of Daphnia magna populations. When the population was well established (i.e., high densities of D. magna), oviposition was fully inhibited and there was consequently no mosquito larvae. When the population was more recently established (i.e., lower densities of D. magna), oviposition and larval development of Cx. pipiens occurred. In the absence of D. magna, oviposition, larval biomass, and abundance of Cx. pipiens reached high values. In this situation, conspecifics were inhibiting further oviposition of Cx. pipiens. Based on these results, we suggest that competing zooplankton species, such as D. magna, could be used for the control of mosquito species such as Cx. pipiens. This approach could be beneficial for the management of wetlands.
本研究评估了枝角类动物作为控制蚊子产卵和幼虫丰度的竞争者的潜力。涉及使用拮抗剂控制蚊子幼虫的研究主要集中在捕食者上。我们假设枝角类竞争者具有很强的潜力来控制一些可以作为新填充水体早期殖民者的蚊子的幼虫种群，而它们作为竞争者的效率应该较低。为了验证这一假设，我们在户外微宇宙中调查了野生库蚊幼虫种群的建立和发展，这些微宇宙中枝角类动物（大型溞）的种群数量有所不同。当种群建立良好（即大型溞密度较高）时，产卵完全受到抑制，因此没有蚊子幼虫。当种群建立时间较短（即大型溞密度较低）时，库蚊会产卵和发育幼虫。在没有大型溞的情况下，库蚊的产卵、幼虫生物量和数量达到了较高水平。在这种情况下，同种个体抑制了库蚊的进一步产卵。基于这些结果，我们建议可以使用竞争的浮游动物物种，如大型溞，来控制库蚊等蚊子物种。这种方法可能有益于湿地的管理。
