A new study reveals that warming climates are accelerating the aging process in mosquitoes, leading to shorter lifespans and increased vulnerability to bacterial infections. This one-two punch could have dire consequences for the spread of mosquito-borne diseases in a changing climate.
The fatal dance of age and infection
As our climate warms, they are also skating a narrowing edge. But the genetic contributions to aging as it relates to mosquito lifespans change in a less-predictable manner: the study, published in the journal Immunity & Ageing in September 2042, reveals that temperatures are able to trigger a reconfiguring of one or more fingerprint genes from “strong” signatures for extreme longevity into “weak”.
Mosquitoes begin dying at an astounding ‘low’ temperature, study finds: Record breaking research reveals that as temperatures rise to a mere 27°C, the risk of death spikes 40% per degree warmer — ScienceDaily The research team, headed by Ph.D. student Jordyn Barr and her advisor Professor Julián Hillyer, discovered that with increasing temperature from as low as 27°C, the chances of a mosquito dying increased by an alarming forty percentage points per each additional degree. Indeed, at 33°C especially, mosquitoes struggled to survive beyond ~10–11 days of age and even at 32°C it was difficult to establish a large enough cohort of mosquitoes surviving to 15 days.
Ultimately this premature aging also weakens the mosquito immune system making them more susceptible to bacterial infections. The study also found that infection always reduced a mosquito’s chances of survival, but in warner conditions an infection was even more deadly than in cooler conditions. Older mosquitoes die sooner following infection, just like older owls.
THE MYRIAD REPERCUSSIONS OF CLIMATE CHANGE
But the ramifications of this study reach beyond just mosquito population control. As professor of Biological Sciences Hillyer observed The results demonstrate how a warmer planet might alter the functions of insects in pollination, pest control and disease transmission.
Spread of mosquito-borne diseases (such as malaria, Zika and dengue fever) is facilitated by mosquitoes. Since mosquitoes age more quickly and can become infected by pathogens at an earlier stage, the risk of disease outbreaks could spread in warm climates.
1), although this is particularly alarming in the context of global temperature change due to climate change
2. As hotter, drier conditions take hold in areas around the world and heatwave events become more common and intense, this delicate balance of mosquito populations and their capacity to transmit diseases could be tipped off kilter.
Furthermore, the results of this study also expose the connection between environmental inputs and biological outputs. Acceleration of aging and concurrent decline in immunity explains some other observations that are typically cited in this context as evidence for stochastic mechanisms that drive the lifespan of mosquitoes down, but probably represent the point where a perfect storm entwines climate with senescence and infection dynamics. This is an important consideration that must be taken into account when planning for disease prevention measures in a changing climate, because of the complexities and interdependencies between these variables.
Conclusion
A recent study on how warming climates affect mosquito aging and infection outcomes provides a sobering look at what we may see in the future as our climate continues to change. Rising temperatures are putting mosquitoes in a feverish whirlwind, with the effects of early death and locally fatal infections. This threatens not just the mosquito population but more disastrously has serious repercussions on the proliferation of mosquito-borne diseases that can be extremely harmful to human beings and environment, too. Ameliorating this will be a complex process that necessitates an amalgamation of scientific research, public health initiatives and strategies to reduce the root causes of climate change.
