The effects of infection with Plasmodium yoelii nigeriensis on the reproductive fitness of Anopheles stephensi

Infection with the rodent malarial parasite Plasmodium yoelii nigeriensis caused a significant reduction in the reproductive fitness (number of eggs produced and proportion of eggs hatched) of two different generations of Anopheles stephensi. Overall fertility (number of larvae produced) was reduced by 38.3% in the generation containing smaller mosquitoes (with a wing length of 3.2 +/- 0.1 mm) with relatively larger parasite burdens, and by 48.81% in the generation containing larger mosquitoes (with a wing length of 3.4 +/- 0.1 mm). The contribution that reduction in egg production and egg hatching made to overall reduction in reproductive fitness differed in each experiment. No significant difference was observed in the egg size (length from tip to tip and breadth at the centre) of control and infected mosquitoes in another generation of infected An. stephensi.