DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Predation, Competition, and the Role of Behavioral Tradeoffs in a Biological Invasion

本研究探讨了红弓蚊对亚洲虎蚊（Aedes albopictus）和东方树洞蚊（Ochlerotatus triseriatus）幼虫竞争结果的影响，以及捕食对亚洲虎蚊（Aedes albopictus）入侵的影响。白纹伊蚊变成了一群居住在容器里的蚊子。 虽然A. albopictus上级O. triseriatus在资源竞争中的优势，在野外，很少有证据表明O. triseriatus被A.白纹伊蚊 与原生O. triseriatus、三列拟步行虫A.白纹伊蚊对T. rutilus捕食风险 研究人员将测试这一假设，即缺乏对T。rutilus捕食导致更大的脆弱性捕食，这阻止了它取代O。三列的 此外，研究人员还将测试：（1）两种猎物之间的竞争性相互作用是否会因T. rutilus的自然丰度; triseriatus和A.白纹伊蚊的数量随着T. rutilus;（3）A.白纹伊蚊对捕食风险线索的行为反应;和4）一致的实验室捕食方案导致A.更广泛的影响：这项研究的教育影响包括完成博士学位。由研究生和研究经验的本科生谁将在实验室研究援助。 实际影响包括增加了对捕食者在限制人类疾病媒介种群方面的作用的了解，更普遍地说，限制外来入侵物种。

This research tests the effects of the predatory mosquito Toxorhynchites rutilus on the outcome of competition between larvae of the Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus) and the Eastern tree hole mosquito (Ochlerotatus triseriatus) and how that predation affects invasion of A. albopictus into a community of container-dwelling mosquitoes. Although A. albopictus is superior to O. triseriatus in resource competition, in the field, there is little evidence that O. triseriatus is displaced by A. albopictus. Unlike native O. triseriatus, A. albopictus does not modify its behavior in response to T. rutilus predation risk. The investigators will test the hypothesis that this lack of behavioral responses to T. rutilus predation leads to greater vulnerability to predation, which prevents it from displacing O. triseriatus. In addition, the investigators will test whether: (1) competitive interactions between the two prey species are modified by the presence of water-borne (presumably chemical) predation risk cues from T. rutilus; (2) natural abundances of O. triseriatus and A. albopictus increase and decrease, respectively, with the abundance of T. rutilus; (3) there are differences among populations of A. albopictus in behavioral responses to predation risk cues; and 4) a consistent laboratory regimen of predation causes evolution of greater anti-predatory behavioral responses in A. albopictus.Broader impacts: Educational impacts of this research include the completion of the Ph.D. by a graduate student and research experiences for undergraduates who will aid in the laboratory research. Practical impacts include increased knowledge of the role of predators in population limitation of vectors of human disease, and more generally, in limitation of exotic invasive species.