title: Contributions of temporal segregation, oviposition choice, and non-additive effects of competitors to invasion success ofAedes japonicus(Diptera: Culicidae) in North America.
abstract: The mosquitoAedes japonicus(Diptera: Culicidae) has spread rapidly through North America since its introduction in the 1990s. The mechanisms underlying its establishment in container communities occupied by competitorsAedes triseriatusandAedes albopictusare unclear. Possibilities include (A) temporal separation ofA. japonicusfrom otherAedes, (B) oviposition avoidance byA. japonicusof sites containing heterospecificAedeslarvae, and (C) non-additive competitive effects in assemblages of multipleAedes. Containers sampled throughout the summer in an oak-hickory forest near Eureka, MO showed peak abundance forA. japonicusoccurring significantly earlier in the season than either of the otherAedesspecies. Despite this,A. japonicusco-occurred with one otherAedesspecies in 53 % of samples when present, and co-occurred with both otherAedesin 18 % of samples. In a field oviposition experiment,A. japonicuslaid significantly more eggs in forest edge containers than in forest interior containers, but did not avoid containers with low or high densities of larvae ofA. triseriatus,A. albopictus, or both, compared to containers without larvae. Interspecific competitive effects (measured as decrease in the index of performance, λ') ofA. triseriatusorA. albopictusalone onA. japonicuslarvae were not evident at the densities used, but the effect of bothAedescombined was significantly negative and super-additive of effects of individual interspecific competitors. Thus, neither oviposition avoidance of competitors nor non-additive competitive effects contribute to the invasion success ofA. japonicusin North America. Distinct seasonal phenology may reduce competitive interactions with residentAedes.
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Ebony G
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Murrell
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Bruce H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Noden
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Steven A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Juliano
keywords: Container community; Multispecies competition; Oviposition behavior; Seasonal phenology