Imperial College London

DrLaurenCator

Faculty of Natural SciencesDepartment of Life Sciences (Silwood Park)

Senior Lecturer
 
 
 
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Contact

 

+44 (0)20 7594 1785l.cator Website

 
 
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Location

 

2.6MunroSilwood Park

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Summary

 

Publications

Citation

BibTex format

@article{Aldersley:2019:10.1038/s41598-019-38599-3,
author = {Aldersley, A and Cator, L},
doi = {10.1038/s41598-019-38599-3},
journal = {Scientific Reports},
title = {Female resistance and harmonic convergence influence male mating success in Aedes aegypti},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-38599-3},
volume = {9},
year = {2019}
}

RIS format (EndNote, RefMan)

TY  - JOUR
AB - Despite the importance of mosquito mating biology to reproductive control strategies, a mechanistic understanding of individual mating interactions is currently lacking. Using synchronised high-speed video and audio recordings, we quantified behavioural and acoustic features of mating attempts between tethered female and free-flying male Aedes aegypti. In most couplings, males were actively displaced by female kicks in the early phases of the interaction, while flight cessation prior to adoption of the pre-copulatory mating pose also inhibited copulation. Successful males were kicked at a reduced rate and sustained paired contact-flight for longer than those that were rejected. We identified two distinct phases of acoustic interaction. Rapid frequency modulation of flight tones was observed in all interactions up to acceptance of the male. Harmonic convergence (wingbeat frequency matching) was detected more often in successful attempts, coinciding with the transition to stabilised paired flight and subsequent genital contact. Our findings provide a clearer understanding of the relationship between acoustic interactions and mating performance in mosquitoes, offering insights which may be used to target improvements in laboratory reared lines.
AU - Aldersley,A
AU - Cator,L
DO - 10.1038/s41598-019-38599-3
PY - 2019///
SN - 2045-2322
TI - Female resistance and harmonic convergence influence male mating success in Aedes aegypti
T2 - Scientific Reports
UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-38599-3
UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/66904
VL - 9
ER -