May the force be with you: measuring mosquito fitness in the field

Authors

  • J.D. Charlwood

Abstract

Fitness of natural mosquito populations is discussed with relevance for the introduction of genetically modified (transonic) mosquitoes for the introgression of desired genetic traits into wild populations. Here fitness is considered with respect to selection pressures and mortality rates that affect wild mosquito populations. Selection pressures on different life stages are discussed, and examples for the estimates of population age structure and survival rate are presented. It is argued that the release of transgenic mosquitoes should be confined to males, with a critical assessment of mating success. Recent models of population replacement show that very high levels of population replacement are required for a transgenic trait to be effective, and that such replacement may take hundreds of years

Downloads

Published

2004-03-01