title: Drought and the organization of tree-hole mosquito communities.
abstract: In southeastern North America (North Florida, USA), the duration, frequency, and timing of drought differentially affect the survivorship of pre-adult tree-hole mosquitoes. Drought affects survivorship both by the direct action of dehydration on developing larvae and pupae and by the indirect modulation of predation. The drought-susceptible species, Toxorhynchites rutilus, Orthopodomyia signifera, and Anopheles barberi co-occur in more permanent holes that are larger, with larger, more vertical openings, lower down in larger trees, and contain darker water with higher conductivity, pH, and tannin-lignin content than the holes occupied by Aedes triseriatus that has drought-resistant eggs and rapid larval development. Ovipositing mosquitoes cue on physical and chemical attributes of tree holes independently of host tree species. These same attributes differ among drought-prone and drought-resistant holes but mosquitoes track these attributes more faithfully than the attributes predict tree-hole stability.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Oregon, 97403, Eugene, OR, USA.
authors.forename: W E
authors.initials: WE
authors.lastname: Bradshaw
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Oregon, 97403, Eugene, OR, USA.
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Holzapfel
keywords: Competition; Disturbance; Predation; Stability