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. 2012 Jun;25(6):1149-62.
doi: 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2012.02502.x. Epub 2012 Apr 16.

Effects of parental radiation exposure on developmental instability in grasshoppers

D E Beasley  1 , A Bonisoli-Alquati, S M Welch, A P Møller, T A Mousseau
Affiliations

Effects of parental radiation exposure on developmental instability in grasshoppers

D E Beasley et al. J Evol Biol. 2012 Jun.

Abstract

Mutagenic and epigenetic effects of environmental stressors and their transgenerational consequences are of interest to evolutionary biologists because they can amplify natural genetic variation. We studied the effect of parental exposure to radioactive contamination on offspring development in lesser marsh grasshopper Chorthippus albomarginatus. We used a geometric morphometric approach to measure fluctuating asymmetry (FA), wing shape and wing size. We measured time to sexual maturity to check whether parental exposure to radiation influenced offspring developmental trajectory and tested effects of radiation on hatching success and parental fecundity. Wings were larger in early maturing individuals born to parents from high radiation sites compared to early maturing individuals from low radiation sites. As time to sexual maturity increased, wing size decreased but more sharply in individuals from high radiation sites. Radiation exposure did not significantly affect FA or shape in wings nor did it significantly affect hatching success and fecundity. Overall, parental radiation exposure can adversely affect offspring development and fitness depending on developmental trajectories although the cause of this effect remains unclear. We suggest more direct measures of fitness and the inclusion of replication in future studies to help further our understanding of the relationship between developmental instability, fitness and environmental stress.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Locations of field collection sites and background radiation around Chernobyl. Partly developed from Shestopalov (1996). The collection site numbers are reported in Table 1.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Hind wing of lesser marsh grasshopper (Chorthippus albomarginatus) showing landmark positions on wing veins (numbers) and vein lengths (letters) selected for fluctuating asymmetry measurements with image analysis.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Relationship between centroid size, parental radiation exposure and time to maturity. Results for both males and females were combined because they showed a similar pattern. A surface was interpolated based on the coefficients for the effects of radiation, time to maturity and the interaction between the two in the best-fit model. The coefficients of the model are reported in Table 2.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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