Ukubuiwe Azubuike Christian, Ojianwuna Chioma Cynthia, Olayemi Israel Kayode, Arimoro Francis Ofurum, Omalu Innocent Chukwuemeka James, Ukubuiwe Chinenye Catherine, Baba Bulus Musa
Applied Entomology Unit, Department of Animal Biology, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Nigeria.
Department of Animal and Environmental Biology, Delta State University, Abraka, Nigeria.
Int J Insect Sci. 2019 Jun 19;11:1179543319856022. doi: 10.1177/1179543319856022. eCollection 2019.
Larval crowding is one of the abiotic factors affecting biological fitness in mosquitoes. This study aims at elucidating, quantitatively, the influence of more larval crowding on aspects of fitness in mosquito. To this end, day-old larvae of the species were reared in 4 density regimens equivalent to 1 larva in 1.25, 2.5, 5, and 10 mL of distilled water. Developmental indices, adult fitness indices, and accumulation and utilisation of teneral reserves for metamorphosis were determined at these density regimens. The results revealed varying significant negative effects of larval density on all fitness indices measured for the species. The study also revealed high utilisation of teneral reserves for metamorphosis at high larval densities. The information generated will be useful in making informed-decisions in allocating scare resources for vector control, although field trials are advocated to establish these laboratory findings.
幼虫拥挤是影响蚊子生物学适应性的非生物因素之一。本研究旨在定量阐明更多幼虫拥挤对蚊子适应性各方面的影响。为此，将该物种一日龄幼虫饲养在4种密度方案中，分别相当于在1.25、2.5、5和10毫升蒸馏水中饲养1只幼虫。在这些密度方案下测定发育指标、成虫适应性指标以及变态时新生储备的积累和利用情况。结果显示，幼虫密度对该物种所测的所有适应性指标均有不同程度的显著负面影响。该研究还表明，在高幼虫密度下，变态时对新生储备的利用率很高。尽管提倡进行田间试验以证实这些实验室研究结果，但所产生的信息将有助于在分配用于病媒控制的稀缺资源时做出明智决策。
