Skip to content
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Menu
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Menu
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
agricultural and biological sciences
Evidence for divergent selection between the molecular forms of Anopheles gambiae: Role of predation
BMC Evolutionary Biology, Volume 8, No. 1, Article 5, Year 2008
Notification
URL copied to clipboard!
Description
Background. The molecular forms of Anopheles gambiae are undergoing speciation. They are characterized by a strong assortative mating and they display partial habitat segregation. The M form is mostly found in flooded/irrigated areas whereas the S form dominates in the surrounding areas, but the ecological factors that shape this habitat segregation are not known. Resource competition has been demonstrated between species undergoing divergent selection, but resource competition is not the only factor that can lead to divergence. Results. In a field experiment using transplantation of first instar larvae, we evaluated the role of larval predators in mediating habitat segregation between the forms. We found a significant difference in the ability of the molecular forms to exploit the different larval sites conditioned on the presence of predators. In absence of predation, the molecular forms outcompeted each other in their respective natural habitats however, the developmental success of the M form was significantly higher than that of the S form in both habitats under predator pressure. Conclusion. Our results provide the first empirical evidence for specific adaptive differences between the molecular forms and stress the role of larval predation as one of the mechanisms contributing to their divergence. © 2008 Diabaté et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
Authors & Co-Authors
Diabaté, Abdoulaye
United States, Bethesda
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Niaid
Burkina Faso, Ouagadougou
Centre Muraz
Dabiré, Roch Kounbobr
Burkina Faso, Ouagadougou
Centre Muraz
Heidenberger, Kyle
United States, Bethesda
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Niaid
Crawford, Jacob E.
United States, Bethesda
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Niaid
Lamp, William O.
United States, College Park
University of Maryland, College Park
Culler, Lauren E.
United States, College Park
University of Maryland, College Park
Lehmann, Tovi V.
United States, Bethesda
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Niaid
Statistics
Citations: 116
Authors: 7
Affiliations: 3
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1186/1471-2148-8-5
e-ISSN:
14712148
Study Approach
Quantitative