| Summary: | Aedes aegypti is the dominant vector of dengue, a potentially fatal virus whose incidence has increased 8-fold in the last two decades. As dengue has no widely available vaccine, vector control is key to reducing the burden on global public health. A promising method is the release of self-limiting Ae. aegypti, which mate with wild Ae. aegypti and produce non viable offspring. The resultant decrease in Ae. aegypti population size may impact coexistence with Ae. albopictus, another principal vector of dengue. A behavioural mechanism influencing coexistence between these species is reproductive interference, where incomplete species recognition results in heterospecifics engaging in mating activities. We develop a theoretical framework to investigate the interaction between GM self-limiting Ae. aegypti releases and reproductive interference between Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus on patterns of coexistence. In the absence of self-limiting Ae. aegypti release, coexistence can occur when the strength of reproductive interference experienced by both species is low. Results show that substantial overflooding with self-limiting Ae. aegypti prevents coexistence. For lower release ratios, as the release ratio increases, coexistence can occur when the strength of reproductive interference is increasingly high for Ae. albopictus and increasingly low for Ae. aegypti. This emphasises the importance of including behavioural ecological processes into population models to evaluate the efficacy of vector control.
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