Container-dwelling mosquitoes: habitat size, direct and indirect effects of predation
Predation is important selective force acting in the evolution of organisms. Predators can directly influence the population dynamics of prey, through consumption. Furthermore, only the presence of predator cues suggesting a threat of predation may exert an indirect effect by changing the characteri...
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| Tipo de recurso: | tesis doctoral |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2015 |
| País: | Brasil |
| Institución: | Universidade Federal de Viçosa (UFV) |
| Repositorio: | LOCUS Repositório Institucional da UFV |
| Idioma: | inglés |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:locus.ufv.br:123456789/8521 |
| Acceso en línea: | http://www.locus.ufv.br/handle/123456789/8521 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Predação (Biologia) Inseto - comportamento Toxorhynchites Entomologia Agrícola |
| Sumario: | Predation is important selective force acting in the evolution of organisms. Predators can directly influence the population dynamics of prey, through consumption. Furthermore, only the presence of predator cues suggesting a threat of predation may exert an indirect effect by changing the characteristics of the species detected. The main objective was to assess the direct and indirect effects of predation on mosquitoes that inhabit environments with very particular characteristics, the containers. We note that the container size influences the composition of species, and predators found more often in larger containers. Depending on the species of prey, the result of direct interaction with the predator may be negative for the prey (increased mortality) or neutral, and this may be related to behavior and habitat use by species. As indirect effects, the presence of predator may increase the mortality of prey, even when unable to consume them. In general, this thesis adds important evidence about the effect of predation on containers |
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