Comparison of Intrinsic Rate of Different House Fly Densities in a Simulated Condition: A Prediction for House Fly Population and Control Threshold

This study aimed to predict the population changes of house fly population by comparing the intrinsic rate of increase (rm) for different house fly densities in a simulated system. This study first defined the knee points of a known population growth curve as a control threshold by comparing the rm of five densities of house flies in a simulated condition. Later, to understand the interactions between the larval and adult populations, the correlation between larval and adult capacity rate (rc) was studied. The rm values of 300- and 500-fly densities were significantly higher compared with the rm values at densities of 50 and 100 flies. This result indicated their representative indices as candidates for a control threshold. The rc of larval and adult populations were negatively correlated with densities of fewer than 300 flies; this implicated adult populations with fewer than 300 flies as declining while the larval population was growing; therefore, control approaches should focus on the immature stages. The results in the present study suggest a control threshold for house fly populations. Future works should focus on calibrating the threshold indices in field conditions.

Source: Journal of Medical Entomology - January 11, 2017 Category: Biology Authors: Ong, S.-Q., Ahmad, H., Jaal, Z., Rus, A., Fadzlah, F. H. M. Tags: Development, Life History Source Type: research