Predation-dependent oviposition habitat selection by the mosquito Culiseta longiareolata: a test of competing hypotheses

• Published in: Ecology letters Vol. 6; no. 1; pp. 35 - 40
• Main Authors: Kiflawi, Moshe, Blaustein, Leon, Mangel, Marc
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Science Ltd 01.01.2003
• Subjects: Culicidae; Culiseta; Culiseta longiareolata; Freshwater; mechanisms; Notonecta; oviposition habitat selection; predation
• ISSN: 1461-023X; 1461-0248
• DOI: 10.1046/j.1461-0248.2003.00385.x

We investigated the mechanism underlying oviposition habitat selection (OHS) in the mosquito Culiseta longiareolata. The putative outcome of a trade‐off between the risk of predation and detrimental density dependence, OHS in this species presents an opportunity to test two competing alternatives: (1) a polymorphic scenario, in which a fixed proportion of females constantly avoid ‘predator pools’, while the remainder oviposits at random; and (2) a monomorphic scenario, in which all females oviposit in predator pools with a certain probability. We present a conceptual framework that demonstrates how a simple experimental design – whereby predator incidence in artificial pools is alternated between 0.25 and 0.75 – can distinguish between, or refute, the two scenarios. Given the proportional use, by ovipositing females, of predator‐free pools observed under each treatment, and a bootstrap estimate of the ratio of daily oviposition rates, we find the monomorphic scenario twice as likely as the polymorphic.