Abstract
The aim of the present study was to determine the fluctuating asymmetry of the first pair of wings in females Polistes nimpha (Christ, 1791) living in an environment contaminated with heavy metals. The average concentration of Zn, Cd and Pb in the bodies of the insects varied depending on the distance from the source of contamination, reaching the highest values on the site closest to the source of contamination and the lowest at the most distant site. As a result of the morphometric analyses, significant differences were found in the asymmetry values of the first pair of wings depending on the level of Zn, Cd, Pb accumulated by the wasps. In the case of shape asymmetry, differences were found for all the effects studied (year of capture and site). Significant differences were also found in the size of wings between individuals captured on Sites 1 and 2 and those caught on Site 3. Specimens caught on site characterized by the lowest concentration of heavy metals in the topsoil, proved to be significantly larger than the insects collected on the other sites. There were no differences in the size of individuals between the different years of capture. Based on the results obtained by us, it can be assumed that the wings of P. nimpha females may become a useful object in studying the impact of environmental stress of Zn, Cd and Pb pollution on the symmetry of their wings.
Highlights
Heavy metals are widely distributed in the environment through natural sources, but more and more attention is being paid to this group of metals as they are inextricably linked with everyday human activities (Alloway 2013).Despite the fact that some metals are used by living organisms and are necessary for their proper development, they become toxic to them after exceeding critical levels.The remaining metals are toxic regardless of the amount absorbed by living organisms (Boyd and Rajakaruna 2013)
The aim of the present study was to determine the fluctuating asymmetry (FA) of the first pair of wings of females of the predatory species Polistes nimpha (Christ, 1791) living in an environment contaminated with heavy metals (Zn, Cd and Pb)
The highest concentrations of heavy metals in the topsoil were recorded on Site 1, located in the immediate vicinity of Zakłady Górniczo-Hutnicze (ZGH) “Bolesław”, where they were 4326.50 mg/kg Zn, 56.96 mg/kg Cd, and 3977.0 mg/kg Pb
Summary
The remaining metals are toxic regardless of the amount absorbed by living organisms (Boyd and Rajakaruna 2013). Too high a concentration of both these groups of metals in the habitat of living organisms may constitute for them a strong stress factor determining their development. For these reasons, heavy metals have been widely studied in terms of their negative effects on the human body (Liu et al 2013; Qing et al 2015), but research is conducted on other living organisms, such as insects. Evaluation of the impact of heavy metals on insects is based on determining, inter alia, the influence of these elements on the reproductive capacity and proliferation in contaminated areas (Moroń et al 2013), the extent of parasitization, species diversity (Szentgyörgyi et al 2011), etc
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
