Department of Biological Sciences, State University of New York-Albany, Albany, NY, USA.
Department of Biology, Colorado State University-Pueblo, 2200 Bonforte Boulevard, Pueblo, CO, 81001-4901, USA.
Bull Environ Contam Toxicol. 2020 May;104(5):588-594. doi: 10.1007/s00128-020-02825-w. Epub 2020 Mar 19.
Female vinegar flies (Drosophila melanogaster) preferentially oviposit eggs on oviposition substrates that decrease larval foraging costs. We tested whether female D. melanogaster would avoid oviposition substrates containing lead (Pb), which could potentially decrease offspring fitness. Wild type D. melanogaster were reared on control or Pb-treated medium from egg stage to adulthood and tested for differences in oviposition substrate preference, fecundity (number of eggs laid) and Pb accumulation. Control females laid a significantly lower proportion of eggs on Pb-treated substrates than Pb-treated females. Pb-treated females laid significantly more eggs than control females. Pb-treated adults accumulated significantly more Pb than control-treated adults. These results indicate that Pb exposure disrupts normal oviposition avoidance behaviors, which could increase larval foraging costs for larval offspring. These factors could induce population declines and have cascading implications for the ecosystem.
雌性醋蝇（黑腹果蝇）更喜欢在产卵基质上产卵，这些基质可以降低幼虫的觅食成本。我们测试了雌性黑腹果蝇是否会避免在含有铅（Pb）的产卵基质上产卵，因为铅可能会降低后代的适应度。野生型黑腹果蝇从卵期到成虫期分别在对照或含 Pb 处理的培养基中培养，并测试了产卵基质偏好、产卵量（产卵数）和 Pb 积累的差异。对照组的雌蝇在含 Pb 处理的基质上产卵的比例明显低于 Pb 处理组的雌蝇。Pb 处理组的雌蝇产卵数明显多于对照组的雌蝇。Pb 处理组的成虫比对照组的成虫积累了更多的 Pb。这些结果表明，Pb 暴露会破坏正常的产卵回避行为，这可能会增加幼虫后代的觅食成本。这些因素可能会导致种群数量下降，并对生态系统产生级联效应。
