Abstract
The aim of the study was to determine the effects of various petroleum-derived substances, namely petrol, diesel fuel and spent engine oil, on life history traits and population dynamics of the black bean aphid Aphis fabae Scop. and on growth and chemical composition of its host plant Vicia faba L. Each substance was tested separately, using two concentrations (9 g kg−1 and 18 g kg−1). The experiment was conducted in four replications (four pots with five plants in each pot per treatment). Plants were cultivated in both control and contaminated soils. After six weeks from soil contamination and five weeks from sowing the seeds, observations of the effect of petroleum-derived substances on traits of three successive generations of aphids were conducted. Aphids were inoculated separately on leaves using cylindrical cages hermetically closed on both sides. Contamination of aphid occurred through its host plant. Results showed that all tested substances adversely affected A. fabae life history traits and population dynamics: extension of the prereproductive period, reduction of fecundity and life span, reduction of the population intrinsic growth rate. In broad bean, leaf, roots, and shoot growth was also impaired in most conditions, whereas nutrient and heavy metal content varied according to substances, their concentration, as well as plant part analysed. Results indicate that soil contamination with petroleum-derived substances entails far-reaching changes not only in organisms directly exposed to these pollutants (plants), but also indirectly in herbivores (aphids) and consequently provides information about potential negative effects on further links of the food chain, i.e., for predators and parasitoids.
Highlights
Due to their commonness and versatility, petroleum and petroleum-derived substances (PDSs) are used in many industrial fields
All PDSs, at both doses used, caused a significant life span reduction in the three generations of A. fabae that feed on plants growing in contaminated soil relative to control conditions (Fig. 1)
Causes of the noted changes in black bean aphid life history can be partly deduced by confronting the obtained results with the changes of chemical composition in the host plant ensuing from soil contamination, as well as with the results provided by studies concerning other types of soil contamination, e.g., with heavy metals, especially in view of the known fact that PDSs cause heavy metal levels to increase in soil (Okonokhua et al 2007; Ujowundu et al 2011; Wyszkowski and Sivitskaya 2012)
Summary
Due to their commonness and versatility, petroleum and petroleum-derived substances (PDSs) are used in many industrial fields Once they pervade the natural environment, these compounds can adversely affect the growth and development of cultivated plants (Shirdam et al 2008; Gbadebo and Adenuga 2012). PDSs modify physicochemical and biological properties of soil, which may indirectly affect the condition and health status of cultivated plants (Wyszkowska et al 2002; Lawrence 2013) These substances cause far-reaching changes in the amount and composition of organic content, a reduction of water holding capacity, an increase in the demand for oxygen; they hamper or completely block air transport between the atmosphere and the soil (Caravaca and Rodán 2003; Iturbe et al 2007), as well as modify the abundance and species composition of edaphic microflora and fauna (Baran et al 2004). Cultivated plants show varying degrees of susceptibility to the presence of PDSs in soil, the resultant harmful impact depending on numerous factors, such as: type and dose of substances applied, soil properties, soil moisture and pH, oxygen and organic matter content, fertilisation applied and plant species (Wyszkowski and Ziółkowska 2009a)
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