Graduation Term
Spring 2025
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
School of Biological Sciences
Committee Chair
Steven A. Juliano
Committee Member
Victoria A. Borowicz
Committee Member
Jeremy Bouyer
Committee Member
Cynthia L. Lord
Committee Member
Ben M. Sadd
Abstract
Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) is an effective method for controlling pests and has been increasing in popularity to control Aedes mosquitoes. SIT involves inundating an area with sterilized male mosquitoes to reduce egg hatch and ultimately the number of wild adults. Previous research indicates that enacting mortality early in the larval life of Aedes mosquitoes can result in counter-productive effects, due to reduced competition among developing larvae. I hypothesize that the effectiveness of SIT at reducing adult populations is modified by densitydependent mortality and density-dependent growth among larvae. I performed two field-to-lab studies and developed an individual-based model to test this hypothesis. The results of my first study indicate that effective population suppression of Ae. aegypti through SIT coincided with significantly larger females from the SIT zone than those from non-SIT zones. Preliminary evidence from my second study suggests that early-season intervention with SIT would be more effective than late-season intervention to control Aedes mosquitoes, due to seasonal differences in larval density and competition. Finally, I developed an agent-based model for Ae. aegypti that has been calibrated to a real-world dataset. I plan to develop the model further to increase its utility in predicting emergent population-level responses to SIT, with a mechanistic focus on density-dependent effects at the larval stage.
Access Type
Dissertation-Open Access
Recommended Citation
Evans, Katherine G., "Larval Environments affect the Implementation of the Sterile Insect Technique on Aedes Mosquitoes" (2025). Theses and Dissertations. 2107.
https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/etd/2107
