Abstract
The Asian Tiger Mosquito Aedes albopictus arrived in the USA in 1985 in used automobile tires from Japan and became established in Texas. This species has since spread to become the most abundant container-inhabiting mosquito in the southeastern USA, including Florida, where it has reduced the range of another non-indigenous mosquito, Aedes aegypti. To assess the accuracy of predictions that A. albopictus would competitively exclude the native Eastern Treehole Mosquito Aedes triseriatus from tires but not from treeholes (Livdahl and Willey (1991) Science 253: 189–191), we extensively monitored the abundances of mosquito immatures before and after the Asian Tiger invaded these habitats in south Florida. These field data failed to demonstrate exclusion of A. triseriatus from treeholes following the establishment of A. albopictus in this microhabitat in 1991. However, A. albopictus had significantly higher metamorphic success and showed a significant increase in mean crowding on A. triseriatus in treeholes monitored from 1991 to 1999. In urban and suburban sites, A. triseriatus was uncommon in abandoned tires even before the arrival of A. albopictus. In some wooded sites, there is evidence for a decline in numbers of A. triseriatus in used tires and cemetery vases, but the native species has not been excluded from these habitats. Overall, the negative effect of A. albopictus on A. triseriatus has been less severe than that on A. aegypti. Experiments outdoors in surrogate treeholes showed that A. albopictus was more successful than A. triseriatus in survival to emergence in the presence of predatory larvae of the native mosquito Toxorhynchites rutilus when first instar predators encountered both prey species shortly after their hatch. Eggs of A. albopictus also hatched more rapidly than those of A. triseriatus, giving larvae of the invasive species an initial developmental advantage to escape predation. Biological traits that may favor A. albopictus are offset partly by greater treehole occupancy by A. triseriatus and the infrequency of the invasive mosquito species in undisturbed woodlands, which mitigates against displacement of the native mosquito in these habitats.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Belton P (1980) The first record of Aedes togoi (Theo.) in the United States-aboriginal or ferry passenger? Mosquito News 40: 624-626
Bradshaw WE andHolzapfel CM (1983) Predator-mediated, nonequilibrium coexistence of tree-hole mosquitoes in southeastern North America. Oecologia 57: 239-256
Broche RG andBorja EM (1999) Aedes albopictus in Cuba. Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association 15: 569-57
Campos RE andLounibos LP (2000) Natural prey and digestion times of Toxorhynchites rutilus (Diptera: Culicidae) in southern Florida. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 93: 1280-1287
Edgerly JS,Willey MS andLivdahl TP (1993) The community ecology of Aedes egg hatching: implications for a mosquito invasion. Ecological Entomology 18: 123-128
Forattini OP (1986) IdentifiÇao de Aedes (Stegomyia) albopictus no Brasil. Revista da Saude Publica, São Paulo 20: 244-245
Frank JH andLounibos LP (eds) (1983) Phytotelmata: Terrestrial Plants as Hosts for Aquatic Insect Communities. Plexus, Medford, New Jersey, 293 pp
Gerhardt RR,Gottfried KL,Apperson CS,Davis BS,Erwin PC,Smith AB,Panella NA,Powell EE andNasci RS (2001) First isolation of La Crosse virus from naturally infected Aedes albopictus. Emerging Infectious Diseases 7: 807-811
Gubler DJ (1970) Competitive displacement of Aedes (Stegomyia) polynesiensis Marks by Aedes (Stegomyia) albopictus Skuse in laboratory populations. Journal of Medical Entomology 7: 229-235
Haddow AJ (1960) Studies on the biting habits and medical importance of East African mosquitos in the genus Aedes. I. Subgenera Aedimorphus, Banksinella and Dunnius. Bulletin of Entomological Research 50: 759-779
Hawley WA,Reiter P,Copeland RS,Pumpuni CB andCraig GB (1987) Aedes albopictus in North America: probable introduction in used tires from northern Asia. Science 236: 1114-1116
Hobbs JH,Hughes EA andEichold BH (1991) Replacement of Aedes aegypti by Aedes albopictus in Mobile, Alabama. Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association 7: 488-489
Holt RD (1984) Spatial heterogeneity, indirect interactions, and the coexistence of prey species. American Naturalist 124: 377-406
Hurlbert SH (1978) The measurement of niche overlap and some relatives. Ecology 59: 67-77
Ibañez Bernal S,Briseño B,Mutebi JP,Argot E,Rodriguez G,Martinez-Campos C,Paz R,de la Fuente-San Ramon P,Tapia-Conyer R andFlisser A (1997) First record in America of Aedes albopictus naturally infected with dengue virus during the 1995 outbreak at Reynoso, Mexico. Medical and Veterinary Entomology 11: 305-309
Juliano SA (1998) Species introduction and replacement among mosquitoes: interspecific resource competition or apparent competition? Ecology 79: 255-268
Livdahl TP andWilley MS (1991) Prospects for an invasion: competition between Aedes albopictus and native Aedes triseriatus. Science 253: 189-191
Lloyd M (1967) 'Mean crowding'. Journal of Animal Ecology 36: 1-30
Lounibos LP (1981) Habitat segregation among African treehole mosquitoes. Ecological Entomology 6: 129-154
Lounibos LP (1983) The mosquito community of treeholes in subtropical Florida. In: Frank JH andLounibos LP (eds) Phytotelmata: Terrestrial Plants as Hosts for Aquatic Insect Communities, pp 223-246. Plexus, Medford, New Jersey
Lounibos LP,Escher RL,Nishimura N andJuliano SA (1997) Longterm dynamics of a predator used for biological control and decoupling from mosquito prey in a subtropical treehole ecosystem. Oecologia 111: 189-200
Lounibos LP,Martin EA,Duzak D andEscher RL (1998). Daylength and temperature control of predation, body size, and rate of increase in Toxorhynchites rutilus (Diptera: Culicidae). Annals of the Entomological Society of America 91: 308-314
Lowrie RC (1973) Displacement of Aedes (S.) polynesiensis Marks by A. (S.) albopictus Skuse through competition in the larval stage under laboratory conditions. Journal of Medical Entomology 10: 131-136
McHugh CP (1991) Distributional records from the U.S. Air Force ovitrapping program-1990. Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association 7: 449-501
Marques CCA,Marques GRA andDegallier N (1998) Is Aedes albopictus only a pest mosquito or also a vector of arboviruses in Brazil? In: Travassos da Rosa APA,Vasconcelos PFC andTravassos da Rosa JFS (eds) An Overview of Arbovirology in Brazil and Neighbouring Countries, pp 248-260. Instituto Evandro Chagas, Belem, Brazil
Mekuria Y andHyatt MG (1995) Aedes albopictus in South Carolina. Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association 11: 468-470
Mitchell CJ (1995) Geographic spread of Aedes albopictus and potential for involvement in arbovirus cycles in the Mediterranean basin. Journal of Vector Ecology 20: 44-58
Mitchell CJ,Niebylski ML,Smith GC,Karabatsos N,Martin D andMutebi J-P et al. (1992) Isolation of eastern equine encephalitis from Aedes albopictus in Florida. Science 257: 526-527
Moore CG (1999) Aedes albopictus in the United States: current status and prospects for further spread. Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association 15: 221-227
Moore CG andMitchell CJ (1997) Aedes albopictus in the United States: ten-year presence and public health implications. Emerging Infectious Diseases 39: 329-334
Nannini MA andJuliano SA (1997) Effects of developmental asynchrony between Aedes triseriatus (Diptera: Culicidae) and its predator Toxorhynchites rutilus (Diptera: Culicidae). Journal of Medical Entomology 34: 457-460
Nasci RS,Hare SG andWillis FS (1989) Interspecific mating between Louisiana strains of Aedes albopictus and Aedes aegypti in the field and laboratory. Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association 5: 416-421
Novak MG,Higley LG,Christiansen CA andRowley WA (1993) Evaluating larval competition between Aedes albopictus and A. triseriatus (Diptera: Culicidae) through replacement series experiments. Environmental Entomology 22: 311-318
O'Meara GF,Larson VL,Mook DH andLatham MD (1989) Aedes bahamensis: its invasion of south Florida and association with Aedes aegypti. Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association 5: 1-5
O'Meara GF,Gettman AD,Evans LF andScheel FD (1992) Invasion of cemeteries in Florida by Aedes albopictus. Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association 8: 1-10
O'Meara GF,Gettman AD,Evans LF andCurtis GA (1993) The spread of Aedes albopictus in Florida. American Entomologist 39: 163-172
O'Meara GF,Evans LF,Gettman AD andCuda JP (1995) Spread of Aedes albopictus and decline of Ae. aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) in Florida. Journal of Medical Entomology 32: 554-562
Peyton EL,Campbell SR,Candeletti TM,Romanowski M andCrans WJ (1999) Aedes (Finlaya) japonicus japonicus (Theobald), a new introduction into the United States. Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association 15: 238-241
Platt WJ andSchwartz MW (1990) Temperate hardwood forests. In: Myers RL andEwel JJ (eds) Ecosystems of Florida, pp 194-229. University of Central Florida Press, Orlando, Florida
Reeves WC andRudnick A (1951) A survey of the mosquitoes of Guam in two periods in 1948 and 1949 and its epidemiological implications. American Journal of Tropical Medicine 31: 633-658
Reiter P (1998) Aedes albopictus and the world trade in used tires, 1988-95: the shape of things to come? Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association 14: 83-94
Reiter P andSprenger D (1987) The used tire trade: a mechanism for the worldwide dispersal of container breeding mosquitoes. Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association 3: 494-501
Romi R,Di Luca M andMajori G (1999) Current status of Aedes albopictus and Aedes atropalpus in Italy. Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association 15: 425-427
Rosen L,Rozeboom LE,Reeves WC,Saugrain J andGubler DJ (1976). A field trial of competitive displacement of Aedes polynesiensis by Aedes albopictus on a Pacific atoll. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 25: 906-913
Rossi GC,Pascual NT andKrsticevic FJ (1999) First record of Aedes albopictus (Skuse) from Argentina. Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association 15: 422
Rozeboom LE andBridges JR (1972) Relative population densities of Aedes albopictus and A. guamensis on Guam. Bulletin of the World Health Organization 46: 477-483
SAS Institute, Inc. (1985) SAS User's Guide: Statistics, Version 5 edition. SAS Institute Inc, Cary North Carolina, 956 pp
Savage HM,Ezike VI,Nwankwo ACN,Spiegel R andMiller BR (1992) First records of breeding populations of Aedes albopictus in continental Africa: implications for arboviral transmission. Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association 8: 101-103
Scheiner SM (1993) MANOVA: multiple response variables and multispecies interactions. In: Scheiner SA andGurevitch J (eds) Design and Analysis of Ecological Experiments, pp 94-112. Chapman & Hall, New York
Shroyer DA (1986) Aedes albopictus and arboviruses: a concise reviewof the literature. Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association 2: 424-428
Sinsko MJ (1976) Dynamics of an isolated population of Aedes triseriatus (Diptera: Culicidae). PhD Thesis, Department of Biology, University of Notre Dame, 109 pp
Sprenger D andWuithiranyagool T (1986) The discovery and distribution of Aedes albopictus in Harris County, Texas. Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association 2: 217-219
Tabachnick WJ (1991) Evolutionary genetics and arthropod-borne disease. The yellow fever mosquito. American Entomologist 37: 14-24
Teng H-J andApperson CS (2000) Development and survival of immature Aedes albopictus and Aedes triseriatus (Diptera: Culicidae) in the laboratory: effects of density, food, and competition on response to temperature. Journal of Medical Entomology 37: 40-52
Trpis M (1970) Anewbleaching and decalcifying method for general use in zoology. Canadian Journal of Zoology 48: 892-893
Williams CB (1937) The use of logarithms in the interpretation of certain entomological problems. Annals of Applied Biology 24: 404-414
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lounibos, L., O'Meara, G., Escher, R. et al. Testing Predictions of Displacement of Native Aedes by the Invasive Asian Tiger Mosquito Aedes Albopictus in Florida, USA. Biological Invasions 3, 151–166 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1014519919099
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1014519919099