Journal
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
Volume 278, Issue 1721, Pages 3142-3151Publisher
ROYAL SOC
DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2011.0153
Keywords
density dependence; body size; phenotypic plasticity; population dynamics; malaria; Anopheles gambiae
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Funding
- Addessium Foundation (Reeuwijk, The Netherlands)
- Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation [51431]
- Wellcome Trust
- BBSRC [BB/D020042/1]
- BBSRC [BB/D020042/1] Funding Source: UKRI
- Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council [BB/D020042/1] Funding Source: researchfish
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Understanding the endogenous factors that drive the population dynamics of malaria mosquitoes will facilitate more accurate predictions about vector control effectiveness and our ability to destabilize the growth of either low-or high-density insect populations. We assessed whether variation in phenotypic traits predict the dynamics of Anopheles gambiae sensu lato mosquitoes, the most important vectors of human malaria. Anopheles gambiae dynamics were monitored over a six-month period of seasonal growth and decline. The population exhibited density-dependent feedback, with the carrying capacity being modified by rainfall (97% wAIC(c) support). The individual phenotypic expression of the maternal (p = 0.0001) and current (p = 0.040) body size positively influenced population growth. Our field-based evidence uniquely demonstrates that individual fitness can have population-level impacts and, furthermore, can mitigate the impact of exogenous drivers (e.g. rainfall) in species whose reproduction depends upon it. Once frontline interventions have suppressed mosquito densities, attempts to eliminate malaria with supplementary vector control tools may be attenuated by increased population growth and individual fitness.
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