title: Desiccation tolerance as a function of age, sex, humidity and temperature in adults of the African malaria vectors Anopheles arabiensis and Anopheles funestus.
abstract: Adult mosquito survival is strongly temperature and moisture dependent. Few studies have investigated the interacting effects of these variables on adult survival and how this differs among the sexes and with age, despite the importance of such information for population dynamic models. For these reasons, the desiccation tolerance of Anopheles arabiensis Patton and Anopheles funestus Giles males and females of three different ages was assessed under three combinations of temperature and humidity. Females were more desiccation tolerant than males, surviving for longer periods than males under all experimental conditions. In addition, younger adults were more tolerant of desiccation than older groups. Both species showed reduced water loss rate (WLR) as the primary mechanism by which they tolerate desiccation. Although A. arabiensis is often considered to be the more arid-adapted of the two species, it showed lower survival times and higher WLR than A. funestus. The current information could improve population dynamic models of these vectors, given that adult survival information for such models is relatively sparse.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Invasion Biology, Department of Botany and Zoology, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1, Matieland 7602, South Africa Wits Research Institute for Malaria, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2000, South Africa candice.lyons@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Candice L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Lyons
authors.affiliation: Wits Research Institute for Malaria, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2000, South Africa.
authors.forename: Maureen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Coetzee
authors.affiliation: Centre for Invasion Biology, Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology, Stellenbosch University, Matieland 7602, South Africa.
authors.forename: John S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Terblanche
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, VIC 3800, Australia.
authors.forename: Steven L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Chown
mesh_terms: D000064:Acclimatization / Q000502:physiology*; D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D000852:Anopheles / Q000502:physiology*; D003681:Dehydration / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005260:Female; D006813:Humidity; D008297:Male; D008954:Models, Biological; D011157:Population Dynamics; D012737:Sex Factors; D013045:Species Specificity; D016019:Survival Analysis; D013696:Temperature; D014870:Water Loss, Insensible / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Age-related variation; Cross-tolerance; Ecophysiology; Mosquito; Population dynamics; Water loss