Effects of PFOS on the behavior, growth, emergence, and predation susceptibility of larval mosquitoes (Culex quinquefasciatus)

Saul, Alessia; Stevenson, Louise M.; McCluney, Kevin E.

doi:10.1016/j.cris.2025.100120

Effects of PFOS on the behavior, growth, emergence, and predation susceptibility of larval mosquitoes (Culex quinquefasciatus)

Journal Article · Wed Dec 03 00:00:00 EST 2025 · Current Research in Insect Science

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cris.2025.100120· OSTI ID:3010613

^[1]; ^[2]; ^[1]

Bowling Green State Univ., OH (United States)
Bowling Green State Univ., OH (United States); Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

Per-/polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been commonly used over several decades for a variety of products and are very persistent in the environment. However, not much is known about their direct effects on aquatic invertebrates and their ecosystems. We examined the survival, behavior, development, and predation susceptibility of mosquito larvae Culex quinquefasciatus exposed to concentrations of perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) ranging from 0.02 to 453.7 µg/L. PFOS exposure resulted in reduced larval survival, with a 48 hour LC50 (concentration with 50 % mortality) of 255.99 µg/L. PFOS exposure also resulted in reduced developmental success and slower maturation to adulthood (and thus slower emergence from the water) compared to control larvae. PFOS also resulted in delays in reaction to prodding stimuli, which were meant to simulate a predator attack, and longer reactions to prodding. Larvae exposed to PFOS also spent more time at the bottom of the water column, rather than at the surface where respiration takes place. Effects of larval mosquito PFOS exposure on predation by unexposed damselfly naiads (genus Ischnura) were not detected. Overall, this research suggests that PFOS impacts mosquito larvae survival, behavior, development, and adult emergence, which could have important implications for food webs or public health given the role of mosquitos as disease vectors.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC05-00OR22725

OSTI ID:: 3010613

Journal Information:: Current Research in Insect Science, Journal Name: Current Research in Insect Science Vol. 9; ISSN 2666-5158

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

References (45)

Practical implications of perfluoroalkyl substances adsorption on bottle materials: Isotherms Kleiner, Eric J.; Sanan, Toby; Smith, Samantha J. AWWA Water Science, Vol. 3, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1002/aws2.1243	journal	September 2021
Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) affects hormone receptor activity, steroidogenesis, and expression of endocrine-related genes in vitro and in vivo Du, Guizhen; Hu, Jialei; Huang, Hongyu Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, Vol. 32, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1002/etc.2034	journal	October 2012
Chronic Per-/Polyfluoroalkyl Substance Exposure Under Environmentally Relevant Conditions Delays Development in Northern Leopard Frog (Rana pipiens) Larvae Flynn, R. Wesley; Iacchetta, Michael; de Perre, Chloe Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, Vol. 40, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1002/etc.4690	journal	February 2020
Perfluorooctane Sulfonate in US Ambient Surface Waters: A Review of Occurrence in Aquatic Environments and Comparison to Global Concentrations Jarvis, Amanda L.; Justice, James R.; Elias, Michael C. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, Vol. 40, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1002/etc.5147	journal	June 2021
Synthetic chemicals as agents of global change Bernhardt, Emily S.; Rosi, Emma J.; Gessner, Mark O. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, Vol. 15, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.1450	journal	January 2017
Perfluorinated Compounds in River Water, River Sediment, Market Fish, and Wildlife Samples from Japan Senthilkumar, Kurunthachalam; Ohi, Etsumasa; Sajwan, Kenneth Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, Vol. 79, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-007-9243-2	journal	July 2007
Effects of perfluorooctanesulfonate and perfluorobutanesulfonate on the growth and sexual development of Xenopus laevis Lou, Qin-Qin; Zhang, Yin-Feng; Zhou, Zhen Ecotoxicology, Vol. 22, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-013-1100-y	journal	August 2013
Toxic response as a quantitative function of body size Anderson, Perry D.; Weber, Lavern J. Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, Vol. 33, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1016/0041-008X(75)90073-3	journal	September 1975
Climate change could shift disease burden from malaria to arboviruses in Africa Mordecai, Erin A.; Ryan, Sadie J.; Caldwell, Jamie M. The Lancet Planetary Health, Vol. 4, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(20)30178-9	journal	September 2020
Toxicity, uptake kinetics and behavior assessment in zebrafish embryos following exposure to perfluorooctanesulphonicacid (PFOS) Huang, Haihua; Huang, Changjiang; Wang, Lijun Aquatic Toxicology, Vol. 98, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquatox.2010.02.003	journal	June 2010
PFOS, PFNA, and PFOA sub-lethal exposure to embryonic zebrafish have different toxicity profiles in terms of morphometrics, behavior and gene expression Jantzen, Carrie E.; Annunziato, Kate A.; Bugel, Sean M. Aquatic Toxicology, Vol. 175 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquatox.2016.03.026	journal	June 2016
Environmentally relevant concentrations of tramadol and citalopram alter behaviour of an aquatic invertebrate Buřič, M.; Grabicová, K.; Kubec, J. Aquatic Toxicology, Vol. 200 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquatox.2018.05.008	journal	July 2018
Historical usage of aqueous film forming foam: A case study of the widespread distribution of perfluoroalkyl acids from a military airport to groundwater, lakes, soils and fish Filipovic, Marko; Woldegiorgis, Andreas; Norström, Karin Chemosphere, Vol. 129 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2014.09.005	journal	June 2015
Escape behaviors in insects Card, Gwyneth M. Current Opinion in Neurobiology, Vol. 22, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conb.2011.12.009	journal	April 2012
Review of ‘emerging’ organic contaminants in biosolids and assessment of international research priorities for the agricultural use of biosolids Clarke, Bradley O.; Smith, Stephen R. Environment International, Vol. 37, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2010.06.004	journal	January 2011
Behaviour of damselfly larvae (Enallagma cyathigerum) (Insecta, Odonata) after long-term exposure to PFOS Van Gossum, Hans; Bots, Jessica; Snijkers, Tom Environmental Pollution, Vol. 157, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2008.11.031	journal	April 2009
PFOS and PFOA in influents, effluents, and biosolids of Chinese wastewater treatment plants and effluent-receiving marine environments Chen, Hong; Zhang, Can; Han, Jianbo Environmental Pollution, Vol. 170 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2012.06.016	journal	November 2012
Estimating the number of airports potentially contaminated with perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances from aqueous film forming foam: A Canadian example Milley, Shawn A.; Koch, Iris; Fortin, Patricia Journal of Environmental Management, Vol. 222 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.05.028	journal	September 2018
Ecdysteroid titers and developmental expression of ecdysteroid-regulated genes during metamorphosis of the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) Margam, Venu M.; Gelman, Dale B.; Palli, Subba R. Journal of Insect Physiology, Vol. 52, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinsphys.2006.02.003	journal	June 2006
Multigenerational effect of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) on the individual fitness and population growth of Daphnia magna Jeong, Tae-Yong; Yuk, Min-Su; Jeon, Junho Science of The Total Environment, Vol. 569-570 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.06.249	journal	November 2016
Unravelling the mechanisms of PFOS toxicity by combining morphological and transcriptomic analyses in zebrafish embryos Martínez, Rubén; Navarro-Martín, Laia; Luccarelli, Chiara Science of The Total Environment, Vol. 674 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.04.200	journal	July 2019
Perfluorinated alkyl substances impede growth, reproduction, lipid metabolism and lifespan in Daphnia magna Seyoum, Asmerom; Pradhan, Ajay; Jass, Jana Science of The Total Environment, Vol. 737 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.139682	journal	October 2020
A review of omics-based PFAS exposure studies reveals common biochemical response pathways Beale, David J.; Sinclair, Georgia M.; Shah, Rohan Science of The Total Environment, Vol. 845 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157255	journal	November 2022
Developmental toxicity and alteration of gene expression in zebrafish embryos exposed to PFOS Shi, Xiongjie; Du, Yongbing; Lam, Paul K. S. Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, Vol. 230, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.taap.2008.01.043	journal	July 2008
Examining the robustness and concentration dependency of PFAS air-water and NAPL-water interfacial adsorption coefficients Brusseau, Mark L. Water Research, Vol. 190 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2020.116778	journal	February 2021
Effect of Sample Storage on the Quantitative Determination of 29 PFAS: Observation of Analyte Interconversions during Storage Woudneh, Million B.; Chandramouli, Bharat; Hamilton, Coreen Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 53, Issue 21 https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.9b03859	journal	October 2019
An Overview of the Formation of PFOA and PFOS in Drinking-Water and Wastewater Treatment Processes Xiao, Feng Journal of Environmental Engineering, Vol. 148, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)EE.1943-7870.0001986	journal	April 2022
Contaminants in linked aquatic–terrestrial ecosystems: Predicting effects of aquatic pollution on adult aquatic insects and terrestrial insectivores Kraus, Johanna M. Freshwater Science, Vol. 38, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1086/705997	journal	December 2019
Tangled webs: reciprocal flows of invertebrate prey link streams and riparian zones: Prey subsidies link stream and riparian food webs Baxter, Colden V.; Fausch, Kurt D.; Carl Saunders, W. Freshwater Biology, Vol. 50, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2427.2004.01328.x	journal	January 2005
Emerging endocrine disrupters: perfluoroalkylated substances Jensen, Allan Astrup; Leffers, Henrik International Journal of Andrology, Vol. 31, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2605.2008.00870.x	journal	March 2008
Control of Insect Ecdysis by a Positive-Feedback Endocrine System: Roles of Eclosion Hormone and Ecdysis Triggering Hormone Ewer, John; Gammie, Stephen C.; Truman, James W. Journal of Experimental Biology, Vol. 200, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.200.5.869	journal	March 1997
North American Culex pipiens and Culex quinquefasciatus are competent vectors for Usutu virus Cook, Christian L.; Huang, Yan-Jang S.; Lyons, Amy C. PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol. 12, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0006732	journal	August 2018
Trophic Transfer of Arsenic from an Aquatic Insect to Terrestrial Insect Predators Mogren, Christina L.; Walton, William E.; Parker, David R. PLoS ONE, Vol. 8, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0067817	journal	June 2013
Climate Change Influences on the Global Potential Distribution of the Mosquito Culex quinquefasciatus, Vector of West Nile Virus and Lymphatic Filariasis Samy, Abdallah M.; Elaagip, Arwa H.; Kenawy, Mohamed A. PLOS ONE, Vol. 11, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0163863	journal	October 2016
Numerical Response of Lizards to Aquatic Insects and Short-Term Consequences for Terrestrial prey Sabo, John L.; Power, Mary E. Ecology, Vol. 83, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1890/0012-9658(2002)083[3023:NROLTA]2.0.CO;2	journal	November 2002
The dark side of Subsidies: Adult Stream Insects Export Organic Contaminants to Riparian Predators Walters, David M.; Fritz, Ken M.; Otter, Ryan R. Ecological Applications, Vol. 18, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1890/08-0354.1	journal	December 2008
The arcsine is asinine: the analysis of proportions in ecology Warton, David I.; Hui, Francis K. C. Ecology, Vol. 92, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1890/10-0340.1	journal	January 2011
Cross-ecosystem impacts of stream pollution reduce resource and contaminant flux to riparian food webs Kraus, Johanna M.; Schmidt, Travis S.; Walters, David M. Ecological Applications, Vol. 24, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1890/13-0252.1	journal	March 2014
Synthetic predator cues impair immune function and make the biological pesticide Bti more lethal for vector mosquitoes Op de Beeck, Lin; Janssens, Lizanne; Stoks, Robby Ecological Applications, Vol. 26, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0326	journal	March 2016
Application of Aquatic Insects (Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera) in Water Quality Assessment of Malaysian Headwater No authors listed Tropical Life Sciences Research, Vol. 28, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.21315/tlsr2017.28.2.11	journal	January 2017
Antipredator Responses and the Perception of Danger by Mosquito Larvae Sih, Andrew Ecology, Vol. 67, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.2307/1938587	journal	April 1986
Size at Maturity and Patterns of Growth and Reproduction in an Insect with Indeterminate Growth Ernsting, G.; Zonneveld, C.; Isaaks, J. A. Oikos, Vol. 66, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.2307/3545190	journal	January 1993
The Numerical Responses of Insect Predators to Changes in Prey Density Crawley, Michael J. The Journal of Animal Ecology, Vol. 44, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.2307/3725	journal	October 1975
The Role of Vector Trait Variation in Vector-Borne Disease Dynamics Cator, Lauren J.; Johnson, Leah R.; Mordecai, Erin A. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, Vol. 8 https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2020.00189	journal	July 2020
Ecology and Biology of Aquatic Insects Starr, Scott M.; Wallace, John R. Insects, Vol. 12, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.3390/insects12010051	journal	January 2021

Similar Records

Related Subjects

Food web dynamics
Insect behavior
Insect emergence
Metamorphosis
Mosquitoes
PFAS
PFOS
Pollution effects

Effects of PFOS on the behavior, growth, emergence, and predation susceptibility of larval mosquitoes (Culex quinquefasciatus)

Citation Formats

References (45)

Similar Records

Related Subjects