Roles of density- and trait-mediated effects in population ecology of mosquitoes

Effective mosquito control involves the application of principles of population ecology.  This talk reviews how population density and density reductions of larvae may affect traits of resulting adults and the numbers of adults produced.  Those effects may impact vectorial capacity of the mosquito population.  Field studies indicate that trait-mediated effects of density reduction are likely important for vectorial capacity, and that density-mediated effects may have complicated, species and context specific effects on vectorial capacity.  These results indicate needs for detailed background knowledge of the ecology of the target population and careful planning of control strategies.