A1 Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä lehdessä

Phenotypic plasticity of common wasps in an industrially polluted environment in southwestern Finland




TekijätBadejo Oluwatobi, Skaldina Oksana, Peräniemi Sirpa, Carrasco‐Navarro Victor, Sorvari Jouni

KustantajaMDPI

Julkaisuvuosi2021

JournalInsects

Tietokannassa oleva lehden nimiInsects

Artikkelin numero888

Vuosikerta12

Numero10

eISSN2075-4450

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.3390/insects12100888

Verkko-osoitehttps://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/12/10/888

Rinnakkaistallenteen osoitehttps://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/67621741


Tiivistelmä

Insects vary in the degree of their adaptability to environmental contamination. Determining the responses with phenotypic plasticity in ecologically important species in polluted environments will ease further conservation and control actions. Here, we investigated morphological characteristics such as body size, body mass, and color of the common wasp Vespula vulgaris in an industrially polluted environment, considering different levels of metal pollution, and we studied the localization of contaminants in the guts of wasps. We revealed some differences in morphological characteristics and melanization of wasps collected in habitats with high, moderate, and low levels of pollution. The results indicated that V. vulgaris from highly polluted environments had reduced melanin pigmentation on the face but increased melanin pigmentation on the 2nd tergite of the abdomen. In addition, with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), we found metal particles from the midgut of wasps originating from the polluted environment. Most of the particles were encapsulated with melanin pigment. This finding confirmed that in wasps, ingested metal particles are accumulated in guts and covered by melanin layers. Our data suggest that wasps can tolerate metal contamination but respond phenotypically with modification of their size, coloration, and probably with the directions of the melanin investments (immunity or coloration). Thus, in industrially polluted areas, wasps might probably survive by engaging phenotypic plasticity with no significant or visible impact on the population.


Ladattava julkaisu

This is an electronic reprint of the original article.
This reprint may differ from the original in pagination and typographic detail. Please cite the original version.





Last updated on 2024-26-11 at 14:46