Abstract
Gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar L.) females and males were chronically exposed to three sublethal cadmium concentrations (10, 30 and 50 mg/g dry food mass) in order to assess the effects of cadmium on larval and pupal duration, pupal mass and longevity. On average, the presence of cadmium in food did not affect larval duration while shortened pupal duration and reduced pupal mass and longevity were recorded. The most significant effects were obtained at the highest cadmium concentration. Females and males did not differ in sensitivity of life history traits to cadmium exposure. It is concluded that (1) cadmium exerts a strong adverse impact on the growth and development of gypsy moths, and (2) the significance of the cadmium effects depends on the dose.
Highlights
Cadmium is a non-essential toxic heavy metal
At organism level cadmium affects food consumption and digestibility (Migula and Binkowska, 1993; Fountain and Hopkin, 2001; Van Oik et al, 2007), the synthesis and secretion of neurohormones (Ilijin et al, 2010) and functionality and synthesis of hormone receptors (Cervera et al, 2005; Planello et al, 2010). All these physiological changes may underlie the reduced growth, longevity, fecundity and hatchability recorded in many insects and other arthropods exposed to cadmium in natural and laboratory conditions (Gintenreiter et al, 1993a; RaymsKeller et al, 1998; Moe et al, 2001; Cervera et al, 2004; Van Oik et al, 2007; Bechard et al, 2008)
As many studies before our experiment have shown, there are highly significant differences in the life history traits of females and males
Summary
Cadmium is a non-essential toxic heavy metal. It is highly ranked on the EU list of hazardous substances and there is a lot of concern about increased cadmium accumulation due to anthropogenic releases to the environment. At organism level cadmium affects food consumption and digestibility (Migula and Binkowska, 1993; Fountain and Hopkin, 2001; Van Oik et al, 2007), the synthesis and secretion of neurohormones (Ilijin et al, 2010) and functionality and synthesis of hormone receptors (Cervera et al, 2005; Planello et al, 2010) All these physiological changes may underlie the reduced growth, longevity, fecundity and hatchability recorded in many insects and other arthropods exposed to cadmium in natural and laboratory conditions (Gintenreiter et al, 1993a; RaymsKeller et al, 1998; Moe et al, 2001; Cervera et al, 2004; Van Oik et al, 2007; Bechard et al, 2008). Since sexual dimorphism is described for many of the fitness (Lazarević and Perić-Mataruga, 2003) and physiological traits (Stockhoff, 1993; Lindroth et al, 1997) of this species, our second aim was to determine whether females and males respond differently to cadmium exposure
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