Fluctuating asymmetry has been proposed as a general and sensitive indicator of developmental instability. Although there have been many field studies of fluctuating asymmetry in populations exposed to toxic chemicals, there have been few laboratory studies. To test the hypothesis that stress from toxic chemicals causes an increase in fluctuating asymmetry, we exposed larval Drosophila melanogaster to six concentrations of lead and benzene in their food. Lead and benzene caused neither a significant reduction in the number of emerging adult flies, nor a significant difference in the average number of sternopleural bristles. Flies exposed to lead at 10mg kg-1 and benzene at 1000 mg kg-1, however, showed increased fluctuating asymmetry of sternopleural bristles. Higher concentrations (10,000 mg kg-1) of benzene caused a transition from fluctuating asymmetry to directional asymmetry. Flies exposed to benzene at 10,000 mg kg-1 also eclosed more than a day earlier than flies exposed to it at 0–1,000 mg kg-1.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ames L.J., Felley J.D. and Smith M.E. (1979) Amounts of asymmetry in Centrarchid fish inhabiting heated and nonheated reservoirs. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 108, 489–95.
Bengtsson B., Bengtsson A. and Himberg M. (1985) Fish deformities and pollution in some Swedish waters. Ambio 14, 32–5.
Clarke G.M. and Ridsdill-Smith T.J. (1990) The effect of Avermectin B1 on developmental stability in the bush fly, Musca vetustissima, as measured by fluctuating asymmetry. Entomol. Exp. Appl. 54, 265–9.
Graham J.H., Freeman D.C. and Emlen J.M. (1993a) Developmental stability: a sensitive indicator of populations under stress. In Landis W.G., Hughes J.S. and Lewis M.A. eds, Environmental Toxicology and Risk Assessment, ASTM STP 1179, pp. 136–158. Philadelphia: American Society for Testing and Materials.
Graham J.H., Emlen J.M. and Freeman D.C. (1993b) Developmental stability and its applications in ecotoxicology. Ecotoxicology 2, 175–184.
Graham J.H., Freeman D.C. and Emlen J.M. (1993c) Antisymmetry, directional asymmetry, and dynamic morphogenesis. In Markow T. ed, Developmental Instability: Origins and Evolutionary Significance. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer.
Leary R.F. and Allendorf F.W. (1989) Fluctuating asymmetry as an indicator of stress: implications for conservation biology. Trends Ecol. Evolut. 4, 214–7.
McKenzie J.A. and Clarke G.M. (1988) Diazanon resistance, fluctuating asymmetry and fitness in the Australian sheep blowfly, Lucilia cuprina. Genetics 120, 213–20.
Palmer A.R. and Strobeck C. (1986) Fluctuating asymmetry: measurement, analysis, patterns. Ann. Rev. Ecol. Systemat. 17, 391–421.
Palmer A.R. and Strobeck C. (1992) Fluctuating asymmetry as a measure of developmental stability: implications of non-normal distributions and power of statistical tests. Acta Zool. Fennica 191, 57–72.
Pankakoski E., Koivisto I. and Hyvärinen (1992) Reduced developmental stability as an indicator of heavy metal pollution in the common shrew Sorex araneus. Acta Zool. Fennica 191, 137–44.
Parsons P.A. (1961) Fly size, emergence time, and sternopleural chaeta number in Drosophila. Heredity 16, 455–73.
Parsons P.A. (1990) Fluetuating asymmetry: an epigenetic measure of stress. Biol. Rev. 65, 131–45.
Parsons P.A. (1992) Fluctuating asymmetry—a biological monitor of environmental and genomic stress. Heredity 68, 361–4.
Rice W.R. (1989) Analyzing tables of statistical tests. Evolution 43, 323–5.
Siegel P., Siegel M.I., Krimmer E.C., Doyle W.J. and Barry H. (1977) Fluctuating dental asymmetry as an indicator of the stressful prenatal effects of 195–1 in the laboratory rat. Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol. 42, 339–44.
United States Environmental Protection Agency (1978) Assessment of health effects of benzene germane to low-level exposure. EPA-600/1-78-061.
Valentine D.W. and Soulé M.E. (1973) Effects of p,p′-DDT on developmental stability of pectoral fin rays in the grunion, Leuresthes tenuis. Fish. Bull. 71, 921–6.
Valentine D.W., Soulé M.E. and Samallow P. (1973) Asymmetry analysis in fishes: a possible indicator of environmental stress. Fish. Bull. 71, 357–70.
Weiss G. (1986) Hazardous Chemicals Data Book, 2nd Edn. Park Ridge, NJ: Noyes Data Corp.
Yablokov A.V. (1986) Population Biology. Progress and Problems of Studies on Natural Populations. Moscow: Mir Publishers.
Zakharov V.M. (1989) Future prospects for population phenogenetics. Soviet Sci. Rev. F, Physiol. Gen. Biol. 4, 1–79.
Zakharov V.M. (1992) Population phenogenetics: analysis of developmental stability in natural populations. Acta Zool. Fennica 191, 7–30.
Zakharov, V.M. and Graham, J.H., eds (1992) Developmental stability in natural populations. Acta Zool. Fennica 191, 1–200.
Zakharov V.M. and Yablokov A.V. (1990) Skull asymmetry in the Baltic Grey Seal: effects of environmental pollution. Ambio 19: 266–9.
Zakharov V.M., Olsson M., Yablokov A.V. and Esipenko A.G. (1989) Does environmental pollution affect the developmental stability of the Baltic grey seal (Halichoerus grypus)? In Yablokov A.V. and Olsson M. eds, Influence of Human Activities on the Baltic. Proceedings of a Soviet-Swedish Symposium, Moscow, 14–18 April 1986, pp. 96–108. Saint Petersburg: Gidrometeoizdat.
Zhivotovsky L.A. (1992) A measure of fluctuating asymmetry for a set of characters. Acta Zool. Fennica 191, 73–7.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Graham, J.H., Roe, K.E. & West, T.B. Effects of lead and benzene on the developmental stability of Drosophila melanogaster . Ecotoxicology 2, 185–195 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00116423
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00116423