"Multiple mating: a threat?"Courtois, MarineThe Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) is a method of biological pest control involving the mass production, sterilization, and release of the targeted pest species to manage its population. By releasing sterile individuals into the wild, the aim is to reduce the overall reproductive capacity of the population. This is achieved by increasing the likelihood of wild individuals mating with sterile ones, thereby decreasing the number of viable offspring produced. However, the effectiveness of SIT may be hindered if females tend to mate multiple times. This study investigates the impact on SIT effectiveness of re-mating, wherein a female can undergo multiple inseminations, using a dynamic population model based on ordinary differential equations. In this model, the population is structured into larvae, sterile and wild males, and unmated, fertilized, or sterilized females. Only fertilized females, those who have mated with a wild male, lay eggs. Sterile males are released continuously. A comparison was made between a scenario where females mate only once versus a scenario where they can mate multiple times with a designated refractory period in between. The impact of the refractory period, which can differ whether it follows a fertile or sterile mating, was explored. Under the re-mating scenario, two cases were examined: one where fertilized females lay eggs continuously and another where egg-laying ceases when females are ready to mate again. Our research underscores the significance of reproductive mechanisms in influencing the efficacy of SIT control measures, and emphasizes the importance of comprehensively understanding the ecology and biology of the target pest, not only for SIT but also for pest management in general. |
« back