Abstract
To test effects of metal contamination on beetles morphology, specimens from species representing herbivores (Strophosoma capitatum), carnivores (Carabus arcensis and C. violaceus) and detritivores (Anoplotrupes stercorosus) were collected from an area polluted with zinc, lead and cadmium and from a control site. Both the length and width of elytra and pronotum were compared. Females of all species from the polluted area were smaller than those from the control site with the average difference of 2.7% (range 0.7%–6%). In contrast, males responded less consistently among species: A. stercorosus showed lower size of elytra and pronotum at the polluted area, while in C. arcensis only the elytra length and pronotum width were smaller. C. violaceus males exhibited smaller elytra length and pronotum length and width at the polluted area. In contrast, no differences between the two sites were found for S. capitatum males. Sex differences may originate from different energy investment strategies in females and males related to the reproduction needs. Even if the observed differences in body size were small, the smaller body size in females of all studied species, irrespectively of the guild, is striking and may indicate on lower fitness of a range of species inhabiting metal polluted areas.
Highlights
Trace metals occur naturally in the Earth’s crust
The objective of this study was to assess the impact of chronic metal contamination on the morphology of beetle species representing different taxonomic groups and ecological guilds
In contrast to some earlier studies, when body mass was used as a proxy of body size, we used the pronotum and elytrae dimensions as more robust measures of long-term effects during larval and pupal stages: body mass and linear dimensions are often used interchangeably in terms of insects body size
Summary
Some of them are essential for biochemical processes (e.g., copper, iron, zinc), while others are comparatively harmless (gold) or are naturally present in soils at low, non-hazardous concentrations (e.g., cadmium and lead) Both the essential and non-essential metals can be toxic at high concentrations. A bioindicator can be a species or a group of species that react to changes in biotic or abiotic environmental conditions in a way which clearly indicates specific changes Such species are good research models for assessing the effects of metals on organisms. We hypothesized that beetles inhabiting metalpolluted environments are smaller than those from control population irrespective of species, sex or ecological guild If current these insights indicate elevated maintenance costs during development indirectly at polluted sites. The differences in soil habitat quality caused by metal pollution should, be reflected in the size of the exoskeleton parts of the adult
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