Taking it with a grain of salt: tolerance to increasing salinization in Culex pipiens (Diptera: Culicidae) across a low-lying delta
Sam Philip Boerlijst, Antje van der Gaast, Lisa Maria Wilhelmina Adema, Roderick Wiebe Bouman, Eline Boelee, Peter Michiel van Bodegom, Maarten Schrama

TL;DR
This study shows that Culex pipiens mosquitoes can tolerate higher salt levels than expected, suggesting their distribution may not shift despite rising sea levels.
Contribution
The study reveals unexpected salinity tolerance in Culex pipiens populations across a coastal gradient.
Findings
Cx. pipiens populations showed high tolerance to salinity up to 8 g/l chloride.
Egg-laying was favored at 4 g/l chloride, and even high salinity treatments were colonized.
Mortality rates were lower than expected, with no significant sex ratio changes.
Abstract
Salinity, exacerbated by rising sea levels, is a critical environmental cue affecting freshwater ecosystems. Predicting ecosystem structure in response to such changes and their implications for the geographical distribution of arthropod disease vectors requires further insights into the plasticity and adaptability of lower trophic level species in freshwater systems. Our study investigated whether populations of the mosquito Culex pipiens, typically considered sensitive to salt, have adapted due to gradual exposure. Mesocosm experiments were conducted to evaluate responses in life history traits to increasing levels of salinity in three populations along a gradient perpendicular to the North Sea coast. Salt concentrations up to the brackish–marine transition zone (8 g/l chloride) were used, upon which no survival was expected. To determine how this process affects oviposition, a…
Genes, proteins, chemicals, diseases, species, mutations and cell lines named across the full text — each resolved to its canonical identifier and authoritative record.
Click any figure to enlarge with its caption.
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4Peer Reviews
No public reviews on file for this paper yet. If you reviewed it on a platform where reviews are public (OpenReview, ICLR, NeurIPS, ICML), you can paste yours below so the community can read it here.
Videos
No videos yet. Explain this paper in a talk, walkthrough, or lecture? Add one.
Taxonomy
TopicsMosquito-borne diseases and control · Viral Infections and Vectors · Amphibian and Reptile Biology
