Ivermectin is a veterinary pharmaceutical widely applied against parasites of livestock. Being effective against pests, it is also known to have lethal and sublethal effects on non-target organisms. While considerable research demonstrates the impact of ivermectin residues in livestock dung on the development and survival of dung feeding insect larvae, surprisingly little is known about its fitness effects on adults. We tested the impact of ivermectin on the survival of adult sepsid dung fly species (Diptera: Sepsidae) in the laboratory, using an ecologically relevant and realistic range of 69-1978 µg ivermectin/kg wet dung, and compared the sensitivities of larvae and adults in a phylogenetic framework. For one representative, relatively insensitive species, Sepsis punctum, we further investigated effects of ivermectin on female fecundity and male fertility. Moreover, we tested whether females can differentiate between ivermectin-spiked and non-contaminated dung in the wild. Adult sepsid flies exposed to ivermectin suffered increased mortality, whereby closely related species varied strongly in their sensitivity. Adult susceptibility to the drug correlated with larval susceptibility, showing a phylogenetic signal and demonstrating systemic variation in ivermectin sensitivity. Exposure of S. punctum females to even low concentrations of ivermectin lowered the number of eggs laid, while treatment of males reduced egg-to-adult offspring survival, presumably via impairment of sperm quality or quantity. The fitness impact was amplified when both parents were exposed. Lastly, sepsid flies did not discriminate against ivermectin-spiked dung in the field. Treatment of livestock with avermectins may thus have even more far-reaching sublethal ecological consequences than currently assumed via effects on adult dung-feeding insects.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2018.07.029 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Size rather than complexity of sexual ornaments prolongs male metamorphosis and explains sexual size dimorphism in sepsid flies.
Proc Biol Sci
May 2023
Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
Male sexual ornaments often evolve rapidly and are thought to be costly, thus contributing to sexual size dimorphism. However, little is known about their developmental costs, and even less about costs associated with structural complexity. Here, we quantified the size and complexity of three morphologically elaborate sexually dimorphic male ornaments that starkly differ across sepsid fly species (Diptera: Sepsidae): (i) male forelegs range from being unmodified, like in most females, to being adorned with spines and large cuticular protrusions; (ii) the fourth abdominal sternites are either unmodified or are converted into complex appendages; and (iii) male genital claspers range from small and simple to large and complex (e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFluctuating temperatures extend longevity in pupae and adult stages of the sepsid Themira biloba.
J Therm Biol
July 2021
Bioscience Research Laboratory, U.S. Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Station, 1605 Albrecht Boulevard, Fargo, ND, 58105, USA.
Fluctuating Thermal Regimes (FTR), where organisms are held at low temperatures with a brief, daily warm pulse, have been shown to increase longevity in adult insects and improve pupa survival while reducing sublethal effects. We used FTR to extend the longevity and thus generation time of the fly species Themira biloba (Diptera: Sepsidae). T.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFComparative reproductive dormancy differentiation in European black scavenger flies (Diptera: Sepsidae).
Oecologia
April 2019
Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland.
Seasonality is a key environmental factor that regularly promotes life history adaptation. Insects invading cold-temperate climates need to overwinter in a dormant state. We compared the role of temperature and photoperiod in dormancy induction in the laboratory, as well as winter survival and reproduction in the field and the laboratory, of 5 widespread European dung fly species (Diptera: Sepsidae) to investigate their extent of ecological differentiation and thermal adaptation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFComparative effects of the parasiticide ivermectin on survival and reproduction of adult sepsid flies.
Ecotoxicol Environ Saf
November 2018
Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland. Electronic address:
Ivermectin is a veterinary pharmaceutical widely applied against parasites of livestock. Being effective against pests, it is also known to have lethal and sublethal effects on non-target organisms. While considerable research demonstrates the impact of ivermectin residues in livestock dung on the development and survival of dung feeding insect larvae, surprisingly little is known about its fitness effects on adults.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPartial co-option of the appendage patterning pathway in the development of abdominal appendages in the sepsid fly Themira biloba.
Dev Genes Evol
December 2009
Center for Insect Science, University of Arizona, 1007 E. Lowell St., Tucson, AZ 85721, USA.
The abdominal appendages on male Themira biloba (Diptera: Sepsidae) are complex novel structures used during mating. These abdominal appendages superficially resemble the serially homologous insect appendages in that they have a joint and a short segment that can be rotated. Non-genital appendages do not occur in adult pterygote insects, so these abdominal appendages are novel structures with no obvious ancestry.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!