SREL Reprint #3534

Effects of methylmercury on early life mortality of yellow fever mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti)

Manette Tanelus1, Guha Dharmarajan1, and Melissa A. Pilgrim2

1University of Georgia, Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, P.O. Drawer E, Aiken, SC 29802, USA
2University of South Carolina-Upstate, 800 University Way, Spartanburg, SC 29303, USA

Abstract: Anthropogenic activities (e.g., the burning of fossil fuels) have greatly increased the amount of mercury cycling in the environment. Of particular concern in aquatic systems is mercury methylation, which is the conversion of inorganic mercury to methylmercury by bacteria. Methylmercury is extremely toxic to aquatic organisms. In this study, we evaluated the potential for mosquitoes to serve as bioindicators of methylmercury pollution. Specifically, we conducted experiments that assessed the effect of methylmercury on early life mortality and development of yellow fever mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti). We hypothesized that methylmercury would negatively affect pupation and the number adults produced by A. aegypti. We exposed A. aegypti eggs to a series of methyl mercury concentrations (i.e., 0, 0.625, 1.25, 2.5, 5.0, 10.0, and 20.0 parts per billion). Regression analyses indicated that as methylmercury concentrations increased there was a significant decline in pupation (≤15%) and the development of adults (≤10%). The negative impacts we observed demonstrated that A. aegypti is highly sensitive to methylmercury exposure and that mosquitoes may be a good bioindicator of methylmercury pollution in natural systems.

SREL Reprint #3534

Tanelus, M., G. Dharmarajan, and M. A. Pilgrim. 2017. Effects of methylmercury on early life mortality of yellow fever mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti). USC Upstate Student Research Journal 10: 40-47.

This information was provided by the University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (srel.uga.edu).