Risky behaviors: Effects of toxorhynchites splendens (Diptera: Culicidae) Predator on the Behavior of Three Mosquito Species

Viable biocontrol agents for mosquito control are quite rare, therefore improving the efficacy of existing biological agents is an important study. We need to have a better understanding of the predation-risk behavioral responses toward prey. This research examined prey choices by Toxorhynchites spl...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Wan Fatma Atma, Zuharah, Nik, Fadzly, Nur Aishah, Yusof, Hamady, Dieng, Xinzhi, Ni
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Library of the University of Arizona 2015
Subjects:
Online Access:http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/15228/
http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/15228/1/Risky.pdf
_version_ 1848837809711874048
author Wan Fatma Atma, Zuharah
Nik, Fadzly
Nur Aishah, Yusof
Hamady, Dieng
Xinzhi, Ni
author_facet Wan Fatma Atma, Zuharah
Nik, Fadzly
Nur Aishah, Yusof
Hamady, Dieng
Xinzhi, Ni
author_sort Wan Fatma Atma, Zuharah
building UNIMAS Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Viable biocontrol agents for mosquito control are quite rare, therefore improving the efficacy of existing biological agents is an important study. We need to have a better understanding of the predation-risk behavioral responses toward prey. This research examined prey choices by Toxorhynchites splendens by monitoring the behavioral responses of Aedes aegypti, Aedes albopictus, and Anopheles sinensis larvae when exposed to the predator. The results show that Tx. splendens prefers to consume Ae. aegypti larvae. The larvae exhibited different behavioral responses when Tx. splendens was present which suggest vulnerability in the presence of predators. "Thrashing" and "browsing" activities were greater in Ae. aegypti larvae. Such active and risky movements could cause vulnerability for the Ae. aegypti larvae due to increasing of water disturbance. In contrast, Ae. albopictus and An. sinensis larvae exhibited passive, low-risk behaviors, spending most of the time on the "wall" position near the edges of the container. We postulated that Ae. aegypti has less ability to perceive cues from predation and could not successfully alter its behavior to reduce risk of predation risk compared with Ae. albopictus and An. sinensis. Our results suggest that Tx. splendens is a suitable biocontrol agent in controlling dengue hemorrhagic vector, Ae. aegypti.
first_indexed 2025-11-15T06:45:34Z
format Article
id unimas-15228
institution Universiti Malaysia Sarawak
institution_category Local University
language English
last_indexed 2025-11-15T06:45:34Z
publishDate 2015
publisher Library of the University of Arizona
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling unimas-152282021-06-05T04:52:49Z http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/15228/ Risky behaviors: Effects of toxorhynchites splendens (Diptera: Culicidae) Predator on the Behavior of Three Mosquito Species Wan Fatma Atma, Zuharah Nik, Fadzly Nur Aishah, Yusof Hamady, Dieng Xinzhi, Ni Q Science (General) Viable biocontrol agents for mosquito control are quite rare, therefore improving the efficacy of existing biological agents is an important study. We need to have a better understanding of the predation-risk behavioral responses toward prey. This research examined prey choices by Toxorhynchites splendens by monitoring the behavioral responses of Aedes aegypti, Aedes albopictus, and Anopheles sinensis larvae when exposed to the predator. The results show that Tx. splendens prefers to consume Ae. aegypti larvae. The larvae exhibited different behavioral responses when Tx. splendens was present which suggest vulnerability in the presence of predators. "Thrashing" and "browsing" activities were greater in Ae. aegypti larvae. Such active and risky movements could cause vulnerability for the Ae. aegypti larvae due to increasing of water disturbance. In contrast, Ae. albopictus and An. sinensis larvae exhibited passive, low-risk behaviors, spending most of the time on the "wall" position near the edges of the container. We postulated that Ae. aegypti has less ability to perceive cues from predation and could not successfully alter its behavior to reduce risk of predation risk compared with Ae. albopictus and An. sinensis. Our results suggest that Tx. splendens is a suitable biocontrol agent in controlling dengue hemorrhagic vector, Ae. aegypti. Library of the University of Arizona 2015 Article PeerReviewed text en http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/15228/1/Risky.pdf Wan Fatma Atma, Zuharah and Nik, Fadzly and Nur Aishah, Yusof and Hamady, Dieng and Xinzhi, Ni (2015) Risky behaviors: Effects of toxorhynchites splendens (Diptera: Culicidae) Predator on the Behavior of Three Mosquito Species. Journal of Insect Science, 15 (1). pp. 1-7. ISSN 15362442 https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84994045672&doi=10.1093%2fjisesa%2fiev115&partnerID=40&md5=a605659b69b00e614b477ed7cc459a95 DOI: 10.1093/jisesa/iev115
spellingShingle Q Science (General)
Wan Fatma Atma, Zuharah
Nik, Fadzly
Nur Aishah, Yusof
Hamady, Dieng
Xinzhi, Ni
Risky behaviors: Effects of toxorhynchites splendens (Diptera: Culicidae) Predator on the Behavior of Three Mosquito Species
title Risky behaviors: Effects of toxorhynchites splendens (Diptera: Culicidae) Predator on the Behavior of Three Mosquito Species
title_full Risky behaviors: Effects of toxorhynchites splendens (Diptera: Culicidae) Predator on the Behavior of Three Mosquito Species
title_fullStr Risky behaviors: Effects of toxorhynchites splendens (Diptera: Culicidae) Predator on the Behavior of Three Mosquito Species
title_full_unstemmed Risky behaviors: Effects of toxorhynchites splendens (Diptera: Culicidae) Predator on the Behavior of Three Mosquito Species
title_short Risky behaviors: Effects of toxorhynchites splendens (Diptera: Culicidae) Predator on the Behavior of Three Mosquito Species
title_sort risky behaviors: effects of toxorhynchites splendens (diptera: culicidae) predator on the behavior of three mosquito species
topic Q Science (General)
url http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/15228/
http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/15228/
http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/15228/
http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/15228/1/Risky.pdf