- Consumption of nicotine by Vanessa cardui larvae will impact wing size and flight performance because it is a neurotoxin that may interfere with neurotransmission, which can lead to malformation or delays in development.
- Consumption of nicotine by the larvae will have an effect on the pigmentation of the wings because nicotine inhibits melanin production.
- Consumption of nicotine impacts the energetic trade offs of macronutrients by redirecting energy to repair damage caused by the toxin.
Impact of Nicotine on the Development and Flight Performance of Vanessa cardui
Gwen Sailer, Emma Moerke, Grace Hedstrom, Katherine McLeod, Edward Defoe
- Lethal Nicotine Levels: Identify toxicity thresholds for Vanessa cardui
- Wing Inflation: Study nicotine’s impact on post-pupation wing development
- Cannibalism: Investigate nicotine induced stress-altering larva behaviors
- Parental Effects: Explore transgenerational impacts of nicotine exposure on offspring fitness
- Nicotine, found in some pesticides, can affect butterfly development, pigmentation, and behavior (1).
- There are many modes of nicotine exposure in invertebrates, such as inhalation, ingestion and direct contact (1,4,5).
- Outside of Manduca sexta, it’s unclear how nicotine consumption at larval stages impacts development and physiology (7).
- Studying these effects reveals how pollutants and agricultural practices impact biodiversity, especially in butterflies and other pollinators.
We would like to acknowledge Jacob Pithan, Matthew Smith, and Dawn Ihle for their constant support in and out of the lab. Thank you Giancarlo Lopez-Martinez for allowing us to use his lab space and incubators. We’d also like to thank USDA-BRL Fargo for letting us use their instruments.
- Changcharoen, T. et al. (2022). Nanomed. and Biotech. 50(1), 87-95.
- Connahs, H. et al. (2016). PLOS ONE, 11(8), e0161745.
- Cuff, J. P. et al. (2021). Methods Ecol. Evol., 12(4), 593-601.
- El-Merhie, N. et al. (2021). Sci Rep 11:444.
- Gill, H. et al. (2018). Sci Total Environ. 628: 556-561.
- Lee, K. P. et al. (2012). Anim. Behav., 84(4), 785–793.
- Olaya-Arenas, P. et al. (2020). Sci Rep., 10(1): 14490
- Disruption of specific traits (e.g., luminance) could alter predator-prey interactions by making them more visible to predators, which in turn could alter ecological roles causing cascading effects on biodiversity.
- Results reveal potential adaptive mechanisms that protect critical functions (e.g., flight performance) which could further our understanding of phenotypic plasticity and tolerance in organisms exposed to toxins used in pesticides.
- It is important to understand these factors because other Lepidoptera species, like the endangered monarch, could experience similar effects which could inform future conservation strategies.