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The effects of simulated rainfall on immature population dynamics of Aedes albopictus and female oviposition

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Abstract

Larvae of Aedes albopictus Skuse typically inhabit natural and artificial containers. Since these larval habitats are replenished by rainfall, Ae. albopictus may experience increased loss of immature stages in areas with high levels of rainfall. In this study, we investigated the effects of rainfall and container water level on population density, and oviposition activity of Ae. albopictus. In field and laboratory experiments, we found that rainfall resulted in the flushing of breeding habitats. Excess rain negatively impacted larval and pupal retention, especially in small habitats. When filled with water to overflowing, container habitats were significantly repellent to ovipositing females. Taken together, these data suggest that rainfall triggers population loss of Ae. albopictus and related species through a direct detrimental effect (flushing out) and an indirect effect (ovipositional repellency).

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Acknowledgments

We thank the team of the Vector Control Unit of the School of Biological Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia. The authors are grateful to the students for their assistance during experiments. This research was partially funded by grants 07-05-16-MG1-GMB15 and 1001/PBIOLOGI/842004.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biological Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800, Penang, Malaysia

    Hamady Dieng, G. M. Saifur Rahman, A. Abu Hassan & M. R. Che Salmah

  2. Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Fukuoka University, Fukuoka, Japan

    Tomomitsu Satho & Fumio Miake

  3. Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK

    Michael Boots

  4. Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    AbuBakar Sazaly

Authors
  1. Hamady Dieng
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  2. G. M. Saifur Rahman
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  3. A. Abu Hassan
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  4. M. R. Che Salmah
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  5. Tomomitsu Satho
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  6. Fumio Miake
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  7. Michael Boots
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  8. AbuBakar Sazaly
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Correspondence to Hamady Dieng.

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Dieng, H., Rahman, G.M.S., Abu Hassan, A. et al. The effects of simulated rainfall on immature population dynamics of Aedes albopictus and female oviposition. Int J Biometeorol 56, 113–120 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-011-0402-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-011-0402-0

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