Genetic-control trials and the ecology of Aedes aegypti at the Kenya coast

Authors

  • L.P. Lounibos

Abstract

This review summarizes results of field trials for the genetic control of Aedes aegypti conducted in coastal Kenyan villages in 1974-75. Two separate releases, in dry and wet seasons, of translocation-heterozygote males induced 60-70% sterility in offspring of native Ae. aegypti but did not reduce adult-mosquito population sizes in the release villages because of density-dependent larval mortality. A translocation homozygote, released for population replacement, failed to colonize village environments because of inferior fitness characteristics, including an aversion for ovipositing in clay water pots, the primary indoor breeding container used by native Ae. aegypti. The Mosquito Biology Unit of ICIPE, spawned by these genetic-control experiments, contributed a rich harvest of information on the ecology, genetics, and behaviour of coastal Kenyan mosquitoes, particularly Ae. aegypti. Some examples cited here are the differences that separate sympatric feral and domestic populations of this species in this region of Kenya and the regulation of adult population sizes of indoor Ae. aegypti by larval food resources and human behaviour

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Published

2004-03-01