Thermal acclimation
Increases in thermal tolerance after exposure to warmer temperatures
during development—a form of thermal acclimation—have been
documented in several mosquito species (An. albimanus , Benedict
et al. 1991; An. arabiensis and An. funestus , Lyons et al.
2012; Cx. pipiens , Gray 2013; Ae. aegypti, Sivan et al.
2020). However, increases in thermal limits were typically minimal,
suggesting a limited capacity for thermal acclimation to reduce
mortality at high temperatures and enable population persistence. For
example, the critical thermal limits of respirometry, motor function, or
survival increased by less than 2°C for populations developing in 5°C
warmer environments (Benedict et al. 1991, Lyons et al. 2012, Gray
2013). Similarly, critical thermal maxima varied minimally with
acclimation temperatures across a diverse range of over 200 ectotherm
species (Gunderson and Stillman 2015, Somero et al. 2016, van
Heerwaarden et al. 2016, Rohr et al. 2018).