Lethal and nonlethal effects of predation on fertility and fecundity in Aedes aegypti

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Shawna K Bellamy, Entomology and Nematology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, Andrew Paige, Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY and Barry Alto, Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory, University of Florida, Vero Beach, FL

Background/Question/Methods
Lethal and non-lethal predator prey interactions have been demonstrated to have significant effects on prey life history traits, such as adult life span. However, less attention has been given to the potential transgenerational effects that these interactions may cause. Biological control agents are often used in integrated pest management (IPM) strategies and it is important to explore any non-direct effects that may impact the vector ecology of the mosquitoes. Here we generated a series of treatment manipulations to extrapolate the potential indirect effects of lethal and non-lethal predation stress on the fertility (measured using hatch rate) and fecundity (measured using egg batch size) of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes using predatory Toxorhynchites rutilus. Additionally, we examine the potential impacts of parental treatments on the offspring development time and adult lifespan.
Results/Conclusions
While treatment did have a significant effect on development time and survival to adulthood, we found no significant effect of treatment on either the egg batch size or the hatch rate. Additionally, there was no significant effect of parental treatment on offspring development time or survival to adulthood. Based on these results, it is unlikely that predator-based control strategies for Ae. aegypti will result in significant unintentional changes to the overall reproductive capacity of mosquito populations.