School of Biological, Environmental, and Earth Sciences, University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS, 39406, USA.
Department of Entomology, Pennsylvania State University, 012A Chemical Ecology Laboratory, University Park, PA, 16802, USA.
Parasit Vectors. 2019 Mar 19;12(1):123. doi: 10.1186/s13071-019-3391-1.
Ectotherms, like mosquitoes, have evolved specific responses to variation in environmental conditions like temperature, and these responses could confer a fitness benefit or cost when carried-over to different life stages. However, effects of temperature on animals with complex life-cycles often only focus on part of their life-cycle, or only consider how single aspects of life-history may carry over to new stages. Herein we investigated how temperature affects intraspecific larval competition and carry-over effects from larval to adult stages in the widespread invasive Asian tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus.
For larval competition, larvae were reared at three densities (10, 20, and 40 individuals) across three source temperatures (21 °C, 27 °C and 34 °C). To test carry-over effects, adult survival was measured for individuals crossed with adult temperatures of 21 °C, 27 °C and 34 °C from the larval density of 20 individuals at each source temperature. Fecundity data also were obtained from mated females.
For competition, there was a significant interaction between larval density and temperature, with the smallest females, who took the longest to develop, produced in the highest temperatures; density generally accentuated this effect. Regarding carry-over effects, adults exposed to higher temperatures lead to greater differences in fecundity and survival of adult populations.
Temperature appears to affect life-history of developing larvae under competitive interactions and can also alter adult fitness as the disparity between larval rearing and adult habitat temperatures increases. This has importance for our understanding for how different life-history stages of Ae. albopictus and other vectors of disease may respond to changing climates.
像蚊子这样的变温动物已经进化出了对环境条件（如温度）变化的特定反应，这些反应在跨越到不同的生命阶段时可能会带来适应度上的收益或成本。然而，对于具有复杂生命周期的动物，温度对其的影响通常只关注其生命周期的一部分，或者只考虑生命史的单一方面如何跨越到新的阶段。在这里，我们研究了温度如何影响广泛入侵的亚洲虎蚊 Aedes albopictus 种内幼虫竞争以及从幼虫到成虫阶段的传递效应。
对于幼虫竞争，我们在三个来源温度（21°C、27°C 和 34°C）下，以三个密度（10、20 和 40 个个体）培养幼虫。为了测试传递效应，我们测量了在每个来源温度的 20 个个体的幼虫密度下，与 21°C、27°C 和 34°C 的成虫温度交叉的个体的成虫存活率。我们还从交配后的雌性中获得了繁殖力数据。
对于竞争，幼虫密度和温度之间存在显著的相互作用，在最高温度下产生了最小的雌性，它们的发育时间最长；密度通常会加剧这种影响。关于传递效应，暴露于较高温度下的成虫会导致成虫种群的繁殖力和存活率产生更大的差异。
温度似乎会影响处于竞争相互作用下的发育幼虫的生活史，并且随着幼虫饲养和成虫栖息地温度之间的差异增大，也可以改变成虫的适应度。这对于我们理解 Ae. albopictus 和其他疾病传播媒介的不同生命史阶段如何应对气候变化具有重要意义。
