Date of Award

Spring 5-1-2014

Degree Type

Honors College Thesis

Department

Biological Sciences

First Advisor

Donald Yee

Abstract

I investigated the oviposition behavior and survivorship patterns of Aedes albopictus and Culex quinquefasciatus to determine if adult-adult interactions affected the egg laying preference or mortality rate of either species. For the survivorship experiment, single and mixed species treatments were used to determine if density levels altered the mortality rate of both species. Oviposition was measured by constructing environments that contained two containers with different surface areas (cup versus bowl). The number of eggs deposited by each species was examined with respect to density treatment levels. Survivorship results indicate that mixed species densities did not have an effect on survivorship, but single species densities did affect longevity, with higher densities leading to faster death. In addition, I determined that there were inherent differences in life span, with Cx. quinquefasciatus living longer than Ae. albopictus. Oviposition results indicated that there was no significant effect of density on where Ae. albopictus or Cx. quinquefasciatus choose to lay their eggs. Thus, there is little evidence of negative adult interactions between these species, however future experimental work is necessary to more fully characterize the effects of adult interactions between Ae. albopictus and Cx. quinquefasciatus.

Available for download on Tuesday, March 02, 2219

Included in

Biology Commons

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