Sexual competitiveness of Vienna 4/Tol-94 ‘genetic sexing’ sterile mediterranean fruit fly males in Israel |
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Authors: | Phillip W Taylor Allon Bear Yoav Gazit Yoram Rössler |
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Institution: | (1) Israel Cohen Institute for Biological Control, Citrus Marketing Board of Israel, 50250 Bet Dagan, Israel;(2) Present address: Dept. of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, 45221-0006 Cincinnati, OH, USA;(3) Present address: Haibar, Yotvata, Israel |
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Abstract: | The sterile insect technique (SIT) is used as an environment-friendly means of suppressing Mediterranean fruit fly (Ceratitis capitata; ‘medfly’) populations in the Arava valley of Israel. The technique depends on released sterile males effectively wresting
the reproductive potential away from wild, fertile males. Studies carried out in other countries have indicated that sterile
males may sometimes be of inferior sexual competitiveness in comparison with their wild counterparts and that this may inhibit
SIT efficacy. In the present study, field-cage experiments were conducted to investigate the sexual competitiveness of sterile
male medflies (genetic sexing strain Vienna 4/Tol-94) produced in and shipped from Guatemala, in the presence of wild males
in Israel. In addition, we checked whether pre-release chilling affects their sexual success. Sterile and wild males were
found to be similar in mating frequency, latency until mating, insemination probability, and duration of copulations during
which no sperm were stored. There was, however, weak evidence that copulations involving sperm storage were shorter for sterile
males. Chilling did not influence any element of male sexual performance. In both experiments, copulations culminating in
sperm storage by females were longer than those that failed, suggesting that processes occurring early on in copulation may
sometimes be the source of sexual failure. Overall, these results indicate a high standard of vigor in the sterile male medfiies
used in the SIT program presently followed in Israel. |
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Keywords: | Ceratitis capitata medfly field cages mating sterile insect technique |
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