Role of nutritional reserves and body size in Anopheles gambiae males mating success

Abstract

A better knowledge of the different parameters that account for male mating success in the wild is critical to the development of genetic control strategies. In this study, we measured energy budgets (total sugar and glycogen) as the daily energetic investment in swarming males of An. gambiae s.s. M and S molecular forms from two different field locations, VK7 and Soumousso. We also looked at the difference between energetic reserves in mated males compared to unmated ones, and assessed wing length in both molecular forms to explore whether this phenotypic trait was involved in swarming behavior or mating success. The current study showed that the energetic cost of 25 min of swarming was around 50% of the male's sugar (M form: 48.5%, S form: 56.2%) and glycogen (M form: 53.1%, S form: 59%) reserves. However, no difference in carbohydrate content was observed between mated and unmated males. Mated males were found to be bigger than unmated ones, while intermediate size of males is advantageous in mating system, both in M and S molecular forms and when collected in two different locations. Regardless of the collection location, no difference in wing size was observed in swarming males collected early or late during a particular swarm. The results are discussed in the context sexual selection in different ecological locations.

Keywords: Anopheles gambiae; Energy; Males; Mating success; Molecular forms.