The final countdown: presence of an invasive mosquito extends time to predation for a native mosquito
Larvae of the predatory mosquito Toxorhynchites rutilus consume arthropods within container habitats, including native Aedes triseriatus and invasive Aedes japonicus mosquitoes. Previous studies, which did not account for common habitat attributes such as habitat structure and predation cues, confli...
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Published in | Biological invasions Vol. 25; no. 8; pp. 2507 - 2517 |
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Main Authors | , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Cham
Springer International Publishing
01.08.2023
Springer Nature B.V |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Larvae of the predatory mosquito
Toxorhynchites rutilus
consume arthropods within container habitats, including native
Aedes triseriatus
and invasive
Aedes japonicus
mosquitoes. Previous studies, which did not account for common habitat attributes such as habitat structure and predation cues, conflict on whether
Ae. triseriatus
and
Ae. japonicus
differ in their vulnerability to predation. We conducted two laboratory experiments to assess how habitat attributes modulate
Tx. rutilus
predation on
Ae. triseriatus
and
Ae. japonicus
. In experiment one, we added fine particulate organic matter (FPOM) and assessed vulnerability for each species separately. Experiment two contained the following treatments: presence/absence of predation cues, presence/absence of habitat structure (FPOM and leaves) and three species combinations:
Ae. triseriatus
or
Ae. japonicus
alone, and both species together. We added one
Tx. rutilus
to feed in each microcosm for 24 h (experiment one and two) and until all prey were consumed (experiment two only). When reared alone,
Ae. triseriatus
had higher survival compared to
Ae. japonicus
in experiment one (71% vs. 52%) but there were no significant differences at 24 h in experiment two. When we followed the cohort to total predation,
Ae. triseriatus
had a lower daily survival rate compared to
Ae. japonicus
(hazard ratio 1.165) when the species were kept separately. When the species were mixed, however,
Ae. japonicus
was more vulnerable than
Ae. triseriatus
(hazard ratio 1.763)
,
prolonging
Ae. triseriatus
time to total cohort predation. Both species were less likely to be consumed in the presence of predation cues. We detected no effect of habitat structure. These results demonstrate vulnerability is context dependent and the presence of an invasive congener can relax predation pressure on a native prey species when they co-occur in the same habitat. |
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ISSN: | 1387-3547 1573-1464 |
DOI: | 10.1007/s10530-023-03051-1 |