ArticleParasites & vectors2019
Sex aggregation and species segregation cues in swarming mosquitoes: role of ground visual markers.
Article in Parasites & vectors, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers.
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16 citing papers in PubMed.
- The complex swarming dynamics of malaria mosquitoes emerge from simple minimally-interactive behavioral rules.PLoS computational biology · 2026Article
- Sex ratios influence spatial occupancy and kinematic stability of Anopheles coluzzii mosquito swarms.Parasites & vectors · 2026Article
- Spatial and temporal characteristics of laboratory-inducediScience · 2024Article
- Mosquitoes integrate visual and acoustic cues to mediate conspecific interactions in swarms.Current biology : CB · 2024Article
- MACSFeD-a database of mosquito acoustic communication and swarming features.Database : the journal of biological databases and curation · 2024Article
- The behaviour of adult Anopheles gambiae, sub-Saharan Africa's principal malaria vector, and its relevance to malaria control: a review.Malaria journal · 2024Review
- Characterization of lab-based swarms of Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes using 3D-video tracking.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- No evidence for long-range male sex pheromones in two malaria mosquitoes.Nature ecology & evolution · 2022Article
- Auditory sensory range of male mosquitoes for the detection of female flight sound.Journal of the Royal Society, Interface · 2022Article
- Hitting the right note at the right time: Circadian control of audibility inScience advances · 2022Article
- Local adaptation and colonization are potential factors affecting sexual competitiveness and mating choice in Anopheles coluzzii populations.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- Swarming Behavior in Anopheles gambiae (sensu lato): Current Knowledge and Future Outlook.Journal of medical entomology · 2022Review
- Spontaneous mutation rate estimates for the principal malaria vectors Anopheles coluzzii and Anopheles stephensi.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- Mosquito sound communication: are male swarms loud enough to attract females?Journal of the Royal Society, Interface · 2021Article
- Intrinsic stochasticity and the emergence of collective behaviours in insect swarms.The European physical journal. E, Soft matter · 2021Article
- Comparison of swarming, mating performance and longevity of males Anopheles coluzzii between individuals fed with different natural fruit juices in laboratory and semi-field conditions.Malaria journal · 2020Article
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6 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundMating swarm segregation in closely related insect species may contribute to reproductive isolation. Visual markers are used for swarm formation; however, it is unknown whether they play a key role in swarm location, species segregation and sex aggregation.
methodsUsing two sympatric closely related species of the Anopheles gambiae complex, An. coluzzii and An. gambiae (s.s.), we investigated in both laboratory and semi-field conditions (i) whether males of the two species use visual markers (black cloths) to locate their swarm; and (ii) whether the presence/absence and size of the marker may differentially affect swarm characteristics. We also investigated whether conspecific virgin females use these markers to join male swarm sites.
resultsWe showed that males of the two species used visual markers but in different ways: An. coluzzii swarm right above the marker whereas An. gambiae (s.s.) locate their swarm at a constant distance of 76.4 ± 0.6 cm from a 20 × 20 cm marker in the laboratory setup and at 206 ± 6 cm from a 60 × 60 cm marker in the semi-field setup. Although increased marker size recruited more mosquitoes and consequently increased the swarm size in the two species, An. coluzzii swarms flew higher and were stretched both vertically and horizontally, while An. gambiae (s.s.) swarms were only stretched horizontally. Virgin females displayed a swarm-like behavior with similar characteristics to their conspecific males.
conclusionsOur results provided experimental evidence that both An. coluzzii and An. gambiae (s.s.) males use ground visual markers to form and locate their swarm at species-specific locations. Moreover, the marker size differentially affected swarm characteristics in the two species. Our results also showed that virgin females displayed a swarm-like behavior. However, these "swarms" could be due to the absence of males in our experimental conditions. Nevertheless, the fact that females displayed these "swarms" with the same characteristics as their respective males provided evidence that visual markers are used by the two sexes to join mating spots. Altogether, this suggests that visual markers and the way species and sexes use them could be key cues in species segregation, swarm location and recognition.
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