Effects of Predation on Behavior and Life History of Tree Hole Mosquitoes

捕食对树洞蚊子行为和生活史的影响

• 批准号: 9006452
• 负责人: Steven Juliano
• 金额: $ 18.44万
• 依托单位: Board of Trustees of Illinois State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 1990
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1990-08-15 至 1994-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9006452&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Effects; Predation; Behavior; Life; History

By killing their prey, predators have an obvious direct affect on prey populations. Predators also have important indirect effects on prey, and these indirect effects are less well understood than are the direct effects. Predation can effect prey behavior by selectively killing individuals that engage in activities that increase the chance of capture. Prey individuals may also modify their behavior by adopting low-risk behaviors when predators are nearby. Prey such as insects that go through distinct larval and adult stages can also alter their exposure to predation by altering the time and body size at which they transform from larva to adult. Although all of these indirect effects of predation are possible, the integration of all of these behavioral and life history responses to predation is not well understood. The proposed research tests for fixed (always expressed) and flexible and flexible (expressed only when predators are nearby) behavioral and life history responses to predation in larvae of a tree-hole dwelling mosquito. Populations known to differ in exposure to predation, behavior, and vulnerability to predation are compared. The results of this study will show how fixed and flexible behavioral and life history traits are integrated into an overall life style, and how this life style is related to predation. These experiments will provide an explicit test of the predictions of a mathematical model for the evolution of life history in response to predation. Because the bite of this mosquito sometimes transmits LaCrosse encephalitis, understanding how this species responds to predation, and how these responses affect populations of adult mosquitoes, may also be important for understanding the medical impact of this species.

捕食者通过杀死猎物，对猎物的数量有明显的直接影响。捕食者对猎物也有重要的间接影响，而这些间接影响比直接影响更不为人所知。捕食可以通过选择性地杀死从事增加捕获机会的活动的个体来影响猎物的行为。当捕食者在附近时，猎物个体也可能通过采取低风险行为来改变自己的行为。猎物，如昆虫，经历不同的幼虫和成虫阶段，也可以通过改变它们从幼虫转变为成虫的时间和身体大小来改变它们被捕食的机会。尽管捕食的所有这些间接影响都是可能的，但对捕食的所有这些行为和生活史反应的整合还没有被很好地理解。拟议的研究测试固定的(总是表达的)和灵活的(仅当捕食者在附近时表达)树洞蚊子幼虫对捕食的行为和生活史反应。比较了已知在捕食暴露、行为和易捕食性方面不同的种群。这项研究的结果将展示固定和灵活的行为和生活史特征如何整合到整体生活方式中，以及这种生活方式如何与捕食有关。这些实验将对一个数学模型的预测提供明确的检验，该数学模型是生命史对捕食反应的进化。由于这种蚊子的叮咬有时会传播LaCrosse脑炎，了解这种物种如何对捕食做出反应，以及这些反应如何影响成年蚊子的数量，对于了解这种物种的医学影响也可能是重要的。