Figure 3.

Mortality and sterility are higher for females mated to experimental EAB compared with control CAB males. (a) Cumulative numbers of dead tester-females when mated to, and continuously housed with, experimental or control males. Mortality is significantly different at day 4 and beyond (P ≤ 0.035 in all cases, directed CBET). (b) Number of sterile and dead females, from offense or defense assays (Fig. 2), that had previously been mated to EAB or CAB males. Statistical significance was determined via a multiple modulus test (27). This is a hierarchical-staged test that proceeds, in a priori order and conditioned on the previous test being significant, from global to more specific tests. Net harm (mortality + sterility) to females, pooling across offense and defense tests, was greater from experimental (EAB) than control (CAB) males (P < 10⁻⁶, directed CBET). This same pattern was manifest in both the defense test (P = 0.024, directed CBET) and the offense test (P = 0.05, directed CBET). Focusing next on specific types of harm to females, and first pooling data from both offense and defense tests, both sterility and mortality were higher for females exposed to EAB experimental males (P < 0.037 for both tests, directed CBET). Neither mortality nor sterility were individually significant when testing the offense and defense data individually.