Behavioral and phenotypic responses of <i>Anopheles coluzzii</i> (Diptera: Culicidae) to the non-consumptive effects of <i>Anisops jaczewskii</i> (Hemiptera: Notonectidae) and <i>Pantala flavescens</i> (Odonata: Libellulidae) in Burkina Faso

Abstract

During their aquatic life stages, mosquitoes coexist with various organisms that may prey upon them. Beyond the direct predation risk, exposure to predators may induce stress that alters mosquito life history traits. In this study, we evaluated the non-consumptive effects of 2 aquatic predators on Anopheles coluzzii Coetzee & Wilkerson life history traits and the ability of gravid females to avoid predators when searching for oviposition sites. To assess the phenotypic effects of exposure to predation by Anisops jaczewskii Hutchinson and Pantala flavescens (Fabricius), 1,000 wild strain, and 1,000 laboratory strain An. coluzzii larvae were separately exposed to one of the predators for 72 h, after which 300 larvae from each strain were monitored until pupation and emergence. The predators, A. jaczewskii and P. flavescens, significantly prolonged the development time of both wild and laboratory An. coluzzii, with a more pronounced effect on the laboratory strain. Predator exposure also reduced adult size in the laboratory strain but not in the wild strain. Gravid females used various cues from predators to select oviposition sites. Our study showed that predators may have phenotypic and behavioral effects on An. coluzzii.