Mosquitoes and climate change

2001/12/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Biologia

Some mosquitoes have known climate change and have begun to act accordingly. The American mosquito Wyeomyia smithii has a special mechanism to detect seasonal changes. When he realizes that the day begins to shorten he realizes that winter comes and that it is time to fall asleep. The weather has been tempering in recent years, but the days are longer and shorter as before.

However, these mosquitoes have adapted their system to the new situation and since winter is more temperate than before, they will fall asleep later. Researchers at the University of Oregon have found that mosquitoes are currently sleeping 9 days after 1972, so they believe they can be one of the first to evolve to adapt to climate change.