Abstract
Heavy metal pollution is becoming an increasingly serious problem in agricultural ecosystems. Heavy metals such as cadmium (Cd) accumulate in the food chain and may lead to detrimental effects on the physiological functions of living organisms, including herbivorous insects. One such example is the Asian Corn Borer, Ostrinia furnacalis (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae). However, how Cd can affect the development and reproduction of O. furnacalis is largely unknown. In this study, we exposed larvae of O. furnacalis to a diet containing Cd and investigated the effects of Cd on the development, mating behavior, and fecundity of the insect. We showed that Cd accumulates in the larvae and inhibits development by extending larval and pupal duration and decreasing the survival rate. The excretion of Cd through multiple routes during the larval and pupal stages resulted in low levels of residual Cd in the adult insects, which were not fed with Cd. However, the mating behavior and fecundity of these insects were significantly affected, compared to control insects. This suggests that the bioaccumulation of heavy metals such as Cd has long lasting and detrimental effects on O. furnacalis over the entire life cycle, affecting fecundity, even when specimens are only exposed at an early life stage.
Highlights
Heavy metal (HM) pollution in the environment results from natural phenomena, such as volcanic eruptions, and anthropogenic activities, such as fossil fuel burning, mining, industrial waste transpiration, and chemical fertilizer applications [1,2]
This suggests that the bioaccumulation of heavy metals such as Cd has long lasting and detrimental effects on O. furnacalis over the entire life cycle, affecting fecundity, even when specimens are only exposed at an early life stage
We investigated the effects of the bioaccumulation of Cd on the development, mating behavior, and fecundity of O. furnacalis throughout the entire life cycle
Summary
Heavy metal (HM) pollution in the environment results from natural phenomena, such as volcanic eruptions, and anthropogenic activities, such as fossil fuel burning, mining, industrial waste transpiration, and chemical fertilizer applications [1,2]. HMs accumulate in the water supply and soil, which are transferred into plants, insects, animals, and humans via the food chain [3,4,5]. These HMs persist in organisms for a long time because they are not excreted by the organism. This eventually leads to high levels of HMs in the food chain [6,7,8]. HMs are toxic, even at low concentrations. An example of this is the HM cadmium (Cd) [9]
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