Spatial and temporal patterns of coexistence between competing Aedes mosquitoes in urban Florida
- 5 March 2009
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in Oecologia
- Vol. 160 (2), 343-352
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-009-1305-1
Abstract
Understanding mechanisms fostering coexistence between invasive and resident species is important in predicting ecological, economic, or health impacts of invasive species. The mosquito Aedes aegypti coexists at some urban sites in southeastern United States with invasive Aedes albopictus, which is often superior in interspecific competition. We tested predictions for three hypotheses of species coexistence: seasonal condition-specific competition, aggregation among individual water-filled containers, and colonization–competition tradeoff across spatially partitioned habitat patches (cemeteries) that have high densities of containers. We measured spatial and temporal patterns of abundance for both species among water-filled resident cemetery vases and experimentally positioned standard cemetery vases and ovitraps in metropolitan Tampa, Florida. Consistent with the seasonal condition-specific competition hypothesis, abundances of both species in resident and standard cemetery vases were higher early in the wet season (June) versus late in the wet season (September), but the proportional increase of A. albopictus was greater than that of A. aegypti, presumably due to higher dry-season egg mortality and strong wet-season competitive superiority of larval A. albopictus. Spatial partitioning was not evident among cemeteries, a result inconsistent with the colonization-competition tradeoff hypothesis, but both species were highly independently aggregated among standard cemetery vases and ovitraps, which is consistent with the aggregation hypothesis. Densities of A. aegypti but not A. albopictus differed among land use categories, with A. aegypti more abundant in ovitraps in residential areas compared to industrial and commercial areas. Spatial partitioning among land use types probably results from effects of land use on conditions in both terrestrial and aquatic-container environments. These results suggest that both temporal and spatial variation may contribute to local coexistence between these Aedes in urban areas.Keywords
This publication has 37 references indexed in Scilit:
- Superior reproductive success on human blood without sugar is not limited to highly anthropophilic mosquito speciesMedical and Veterinary Entomology, 2006
- A field test for competitive effects of Aedes albopictus on A. aegypti in South Florida: differences between sites of coexistence and exclusion?Oecologia, 2004
- Desiccation and thermal tolerance of eggs and the coexistence of competing mosquitoesOecologia, 2002
- First Isolation of La Crosse Virus from Naturally InfectedAedes albopictusEmerging Infectious Diseases, 2001
- First Isolation of La Crosse Virus from Naturally InfectedAedes albopictusEmerging Infectious Diseases, 2001
- General Theory of Competitive Coexistence in Spatially-Varying EnvironmentsTheoretical Population Biology, 2000
- Mechanisms of Maintenance of Species DiversityAnnual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 2000
- SPECIES INTRODUCTION AND REPLACEMENT AMONG MOSQUITOES: INTERSPECIFIC RESOURCE COMPETITION OR APPARENT COMPETITION?Ecology, 1998
- The Roles of Harsh and Fluctuating Conditions in the Dynamics of Ecological CommunitiesThe American Naturalist, 1997
- Covariance, coexistence and the population dynamics of two competitors using a patchy resourceJournal of Theoretical Biology, 1988