DOI: 10.5061/dryad.v8gr4
title: Data from: Size, sounds and sex: interactions between body size and harmonic convergence signals determine mating success in Aedes aegypti

description: Background: Several new mosquito control strategies will involve the
 release of laboratory reared males which will be required to compete with
 wild males for mates. Currently, the determinants of male mating success
 remain unclear. The presence of convergence between male and female
 harmonic flight tone frequencies during a mating attempt have been found
 to increase male mating success in the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes
 aegypti. Size has also been implicated as a factor in male mating success.
 Here, we investigated the relationships among body size, harmonic
 convergence signalling, and mating success. We predicted that harmonic
 convergence would be an important determinant of mating success and that
 large individuals would be more likely to converge. Methods: We used diet
 to manipulate male and female body size and then measured acoustic
 interactions during mating attempts between pairs of different body sizes.
 Additionally, we used playback experiments to measure the direct effect of
 size on signalling performance. Results: In live pair interactions,
 harmonic convergence was found to be a significant predictor of copula
 formation. However, we also found interactions between harmonic
 convergence behaviour and body size. The probability that a given male
 successfully formed a copula was a consequence of his size, the size of
 the female encountered, and whether or not they converged. While
 convergence appears to be predictive of mating success regardless of size,
 the positive effect of convergence was modulated by size combinations. In
 playbacks, adult body size did not affect the probability of harmonic
 convergence responses. Conclusions: Both body size and harmonic
 convergence signalling were found to be determinants of male mating
 success. Our results suggest that in addition to measuring convergence
 ability of mass release lines that the size distribution of released males
 may need to be adjusted to complement the size distribution of females. We
 also found that diet amount alone cannot be used to increase male mating
 success or convergence probability. A clearer understanding of convergence
 behaviours, their relationship to mating success, and factors influencing
 convergence ability would provide the groundwork for improving the mating
 performance of laboratory reared lines.
description: ArtificialPlayback_DetailsData on acoustic response for each artificial playback pulse for each test mosquito recorded in the laboratory. Each mosquito has unique ID number. Here, Synch indicated harmonic convergence.Artificial Playbacks SummarySummary information for each test mosquito provided artificial playbacksArtificialPlaybacks_Summary.xlsLive Pair DataDetails of acoustic interactions and mating attempt outcomes for all body size combinations.LivePairData.xlsLive Recording Playback DetailedData on acoustic response for each live recording playback pulse for each test mosquito. Each mosquito has unique ID number.LivePlayback_Detailed.xlsLive Recording Playback SummarySummary information for each test mosquito provided live recording playbacks.LivePlayback_Summary.xls