Mosquito and Vector-Borne Infectious Disease Laboratory, College of Health and Human Sciences, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC.
J Med Entomol. 2021 Jan 12;58(1):493-497. doi: 10.1093/jme/tjaa183.
Recent studies report extensive reductions in the abundance of the North American rock pool mosquito, Aedes atropalpus (Diptera: Culicidae), following the invasion of Ae. japonicus japonicus in the United States. Although developmental temperature is recognized as an important component of the invasion biology of Ae. j. japonicus, its impacts on the population growth and fitness of Ae. atropalpus remain largely undefined. In this study we reared Ae. atropalpus larvae at three temperature ranges reflecting ecologically important temperatures in natural rock pools: a low temperature range (mean: 19°C) where Ae. j. japonicus is common and Ae. atropalpus is often rare, a middle temperature range (mean: 25°C) where both species are naturally found in similar relative abundances, and a higher temperature range (mean: 31°C) where Ae. atropalpus is the dominant species. We measured survival, development time, wing length, and fecundity to calculate a finite population growth rate at each temperature. Our results indicate that Ae. atropalpus population growth suffers in colder rock pools, which informs the perceived displacement of the species in temperate habitats. The population growth rate was highest in the middle temperature range, but not significantly higher than in the highest temperature range used in this study. The developmental success of Ae. atropalpus at the intermediate temperature range suggests that competition with Ae. j. japonicus in rock pools within that range may significantly impact natural Ae. atropalpus populations.
最近的研究报告称，随着白纹伊蚊（Aedes japonicus japonicus）在美国的入侵，北美的石池蚊（Aedes atropalpus）数量大量减少。尽管发育温度被认为是白纹伊蚊入侵生物学的一个重要组成部分，但它对石池蚊种群增长和适应能力的影响在很大程度上还不清楚。在这项研究中，我们在三个温度范围内饲养石池蚊幼虫，这些温度范围反映了自然石池中的生态重要温度：一个低温范围（平均温度：19°C），白纹伊蚊常见，而石池蚊往往很少见；一个中温范围（平均温度：25°C），两种物种在自然条件下的相对丰度相似；一个高温范围（平均温度：31°C），石池蚊是主要物种。我们测量了存活率、发育时间、翅长和繁殖力，以计算每个温度下的有限种群增长率。我们的结果表明，石池蚊在较冷的石池中种群增长受到影响，这解释了该物种在温带生境中被取代的现象。种群增长率在中温范围内最高，但与本研究中使用的最高温度范围内的增长率没有显著差异。石池蚊在中温范围内的发育成功表明，在该范围内的石池中与白纹伊蚊的竞争可能会对自然石池蚊种群产生重大影响。
