Pollution by conspecifics as a component of intraspecific competition among Aedes aegypti larvae

1. The role of pollution by conspecifics in the costs associated with larval intraspecific competition was investigated for Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae). 2. The growth of larval A. aegypti mosquitoes reared in clean water and water in which another larva had previously grown was compared; this procedure eliminates interactions through food consumption between competitors and allows the effects of other processes to be expressed. 3. A cost of growing in polluted water was found: this cost was expressed as an increase in developmental time and a reduction of adult longevity when starved, starved adult dry weight, and wing length. 4. Contrary to previously reported results of an experiment allowing for competition for food, these costs were not expressed in a sex-specific manner and were independent of the sex of the polluter. 5. It was thus demonstrated that competition arises from both resource depletion and other effects that result in deterioration of the environment, with chemical pollution of the environment being the most likely cause.