Invasions by non-native disease vectoring mosquito species have become important considerations in mosquito control and public health. The Asian rock pool mosquito, Aedes japonicus japonicus (Theobald), which was first found in the US in 1998, has been increasing both its range and abundance. This invasive mosquito has the potential to displace the native La Crosse vectoring mosquito, Aedes triseriatus (Say). Several studies have shown that Ae. j. japonicus larvae have shorter development times to pupation than Ae. triseriatus. The overarching hypothesis for this thesis was that Ae. j. japonicus is able to emerge from larval habitats faster than Ae. triseriatus by better utilizing nutrients that accelerate its growth. Single larvae nanocosms were used to monitor individual larval development in the absence of competition, and multi-larvae microcosms were used to test effect of additional nitrogen on larval development. In these studies larvae of both species depressed the total amount of nitrogen in their habitats similarly, but newly emerged Ae. j. japonicus adults retained less nitrogen in their body tissues. It was also found that Ae. j. japonicus growth was not limited by nitrogen availability and that Ae. triseriatus may have been more sensitive to pathogenic microorganisms that were stimulated by the addition of soluble nitrogen.
Read
