Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 14, 2026
12:10
An Experimental and Bioinformatics Protocol for RNA-seq Analyses of Photoperiodic Diapause in the Asian Tiger Mosquito, Aedes albopictus
Published on: November 30, 2014
13.5K
How will mosquitoes adapt to climate warming?
Lisa I Couper1, Johannah E Farner1, Jamie M Caldwell1,2
1Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, United States.
Elife
|August 17, 2021
Summary
Species can adapt to climate change through evolution, especially short-lived insects like mosquitoes. Understanding this adaptive potential is key for predicting impacts and preparing for public health challenges.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary biology
- Climate change adaptation
- Ecology
Background:
- Species persistence under climate change is a critical question.
- Short-lived ectotherms, including pests and disease vectors, may adapt readily.
- Accurate predictive modeling and public health preparedness rely on understanding climate adaptation potential.
Purpose of the Study:
- To demonstrate the utility of evolutionary rescue models for assessing climate adaptation potential.
- To investigate the thermal adaptation of mosquitoes as a case study.
- To explore the implications of climate adaptation for disease transmission.
Main Methods:
- Synthesized current evidence on mosquito thermal adaptation.
- Utilized theoretical framework of evolutionary rescue models.
- Proposed common garden and selection experiments to fill knowledge gaps.
- Examined disease transmission dynamics using a case study of Aedes aegypti and dengue virus.
Main Results:
- Short generation times, high population growth, and strong selection favor mosquito thermal adaptation.
- Significant knowledge gaps exist regarding genetic variation, selection sensitivity, and plasticity.
- Mosquito adaptation can have consequences for disease transmission.
Conclusions:
- Evolutionary rescue models provide a framework for assessing climate adaptation in pest and vector species.
- Further research is needed to quantify adaptive potential and its ecological consequences.
- This approach is applicable to various species and environmental changes.
Related Concept Videos
00:53Migration
Migration is long-range, seasonal movement from one region or habitat to another. This common strategy, carried out by many different organisms around the world, is an adaptive response that typically corresponds to changes in an organism’s environment, like resource availability or climate. Migrations can involve huge groups of thousands of animals as well as single individuals traveling alone and can range from thousands of kilometers to just a few hundred meters.
00:58Symbiosis
Symbiotic relationships are long-term, close interactions between individuals of different species that affect the distribution and abundance of those species. When a relationship is beneficial to both species, this is called mutualism. When the relationship is beneficial to one species but neither beneficial nor harmful to the other species, this is called commensalism. When one organism is harmed to benefit another, the relationship is known as parasitism. These types of relationships often...
01:57Adaptations that Reduce Water Loss
Though evaporation from plant leaves drives transpiration, it also results in loss of water. Because water is critical for photosynthetic reactions and other cellular processes, evolutionary pressures on plants in different environments have driven the acquisition of adaptations that reduce water loss.
01:27Microbes and Climate Change
Microorganisms are pivotal agents in Earth's biogeochemical cycles, significantly influencing climate dynamics through their metabolic activities. These microbes modulate the levels of key greenhouse gases by both contributing to and helping mitigate climate change.Microbial Contributions to Greenhouse Gas EmissionsRising global temperatures accelerate microbial metabolism, which, in turn, speeds up the decomposition of organic matter. This process releases carbon dioxide (CO₂) through...
01:29Malaria
Malaria pathogenesis in humans reflects a delicate interplay between parasite biology and host response. Clinical illness reflects a host’s immune response to the parasite’s asexual replication cycle, which is often asymptomatic in individuals with partial immunity. From the parasite's perspective, transmission between mosquito and human with minimal host pathology is evolutionarily advantageous. Among the six Plasmodium species infecting humans, P. falciparum and P. vivax dominate in global...