Organisms inhabiting metal-contaminated areas can be stressed by metal exposure and are possibly subject to selection, resulting in increased metal tolerance and changes in growth and/or reproduction characteristics. In a previous study it was found that in the terrestrial isopod Porcellio scaber, sampled from the vicinity of a zine smelter, the body size was small and the brood size was large compared to isopods from a reference area. To assess whether these differences were due to genetic differentiation between strains, isopods collected from a reference wood, a zinc smelter area and a lead mine were cultured on non-polluted food, while growth, reproduction and metal concentrations were studied in first and second laboratory generations. The isopods from the three populations differed in age and weight at first reproduction, although there were hardly any differences in growth. The females of the mine and the smelter population started to reproduce earlier, at a lower weight, which resulted in fewer young per female. However, reproductive allocation (=wight of young relative to the weight of the mother) was higher in mine and smelter isopods. We conclude that the isopods at the metal-contaminated sites have been selected for early reproduction and increased reproductive allocation. The results indicate that populations inhabiting metal-polluted sites have probably undergone evolutionary changes. This study showed that growth and reproduction characteristics of different populations under laboratory conditions may provide information on selection processes in the field.

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Abstract-Temperature is an important controlling factor in the metabolism of ectotherms, and it may interact with the toxicity of heavy metals in a variety of ways. In this work, a study on the effect of different zinc concentrations (0.3, 13, 26, and 40 mol/ g dry litter) on growth (body weight) of the isopod Porcellio scaber was conducted using four temperature levels (12, 16, 20, and 24ЊC). The results demonstrated a significant effect for both zinc and temperature on the growth rate; the interaction between zinc and temperature was also significant. The Arrhenius function was used to describe the temperature-growth rate relationship, from which estimates for the activation energy were derived. A tendency for activation energy to decrease with increasing zinc concentration was observed. Isopods exposed to 13 mol Zn/g had the highest activation energy and the highest growth rate. To analyze the effect of temperature on the internal body concentration of zinc, the exposure time was transformed into physiological time, calibrated at 15ЊC, for all experimental groups using the activation energies estimated earlier. The rate of zinc accumulation was derived from the relationship between internal body concentration and physiological exposure time. Differences between isopods cultured at different temperatures could be explained well by the effect of physiological exposure time. The interaction between temperature and zinc toxicity seems to be due not to increased accumulation of zinc at higher temperatures as such but to a physiological interaction with the energy metabolism.

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A pedological characterisation of seven sites along a transect from a smelter at Avonmouth, UK, was undertaken. Site locations comprised a mixture of both grassland (5 sites) and oak tree dominated (2 sites) areas. Geographically, sites were either low lying or on adjacent elevated ground. Across the transect, a severe gradient of metal concentrations was found with highest values for organic soil horizons from close to the factory. Comparisons with quality standards indicate that these metal levels are likely to be a major ecological stressor. In addition to the strong metal gradient, a number of other between site differences were also observed. These were firstly water regime, which at the low lying sites close to the smelter showed influence by both, groundwater and stagnant water, while at more distant sites indicated susceptibility to stagnant water only, and secondly soil pH, which showed large between site variations, although no consistent trend along the transect. Humus forms at sites more than 1.5 km from the smelter were characteristic for the soil conditions and land-use present, while those at sites within 1.5 km showed disturbed profiles. Indeed, the humus types present at these locations suggest that the activity of soil invertebrates may be inhibited. This is almost certainly due primarily to the high concentrations of metals that were present in mineral soil and organic horizons at the sites. However, the potential influences of water regime and pH could also be relevant factors influencing the results of any further studies conducted at these study sites.