Effects of larval crowding on some biological characteristics of the blowfly, Calliphora vicina (Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830) (Diptera: Calliphoridae)

Abstract

Blowflies are well known necrophagous insects and usually the first insects to discover and colonize a body after death. Thus, postmortem interval (PMI) can be estimated from the length or stage of development of blowfly larvae collected from a corpse. Abiotic and biotic factors influence multiple traits of a population, including body size, fecundity, survival and development rate. Larval crowding is one of the factors affecting blowfly population dynamics. The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect of larval mass on some life history parameters of Calliphora vicina(Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830) (Diptera: Calliphoridae). Experiments were conducted at the Animal Physiology Research Laboratory, Ondokuz Mayıs University during 2017. Five, 25, 50, 100, 500 or 1000 newly hatched C. vicina larvae were introduced into a plastic cup containing fresh chicken liver and kept at 22°C and 70% RH under a 12:12 h L:D photoperiod. They were checked at 12-h intervals and development period, survival rate, adult eclosion time, sex ratio, adult size and pupal and adult weights were recorded. The development periods for larval and pupal stages were positively affected by larval crowding. However, larval and pupal survival rate and the percentage of individuals reaching adulthood were very low in the crowded groups. The results also indicated that pupal and adult weight and adult size negatively affected by increasing larval density. It is concluded that larval crowding has an important effect on life history parameters of C. vicina and this need to be considered more reliable estimation of PMI.

Keywords

• Calliphora vicina
• larval density
• nutrition
• survivorship

Larva yoğunluğunun leş sineği, Calliphora vicina (Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830) (Diptera: Calliphoridae)’nın bazı biyolojik özelliklerine etkileri

Öz

Leş sinekleri iyi bilinen nekrofaj böceklerdir ve genellikle ölümden sonra vücudu keşfeden ve kolonize olan ilk böceklerdir. Bu nedenle, ölüm sonrası geçen zaman aralığı (PMI), cesetten toplanan leş sineği larvalarının gelişim evresine veya uzunluğuna bakılarak belirlenebilir. Abiyotik ve biyotik faktörler bir popülasyonun vücut büyüklüğü, verim, hayatta kalma ve gelişim oranı gibi farklı özelliklerini etkiler. Larva yoğunluğu, leş sineklerinin popülasyon dinamiğini etkileyen en önemli faktörlerden biridir. Bu çalışmanın amacı, larva yoğunluğunun Calliphora vicina (Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830) (Diptera: Calliphoridae)’nın bazı yaşamsal parametreleri üzerindeki etkisini belirlemektir. Denemeler 2017 yılında Ondokuz Mayıs Üniversitesi, Hayvan Fizyolojisi Araştırma Laboratuvarı’nda yapılmıştır. Yumurtadan yeni çıkan 5, 25, 50, 100, 500 veya 1000 C. vicina larvası içerisinde taze tavuk ciğeri bulunan plastik kap içerisine yerleştirilmiş ve 22°C, %70 bağıl nem ve of 12:12 (A:K) s foto periyot koşullarında tutulmuştur. Bu kaplar 12 saat aralıkla kontrol edilerek gelişim süresi, hayatta kalma oranı, ergin çıkış zamanı, eşey oranı, ergin büyüklüğü, pupa ve ergin ağırlıkları kaydedilmiştir. Larva ve pupa dönemlerinin gelişme süreleri larva yoğunluğundan olumlu etkilenmiştir. Buna karşın, larva ve pupaların hayatta kalma oranı ve ergin hale ulaşan bireylerin yüzdeleri kalabalık gruplarda oldukça düşüktür. Sonuçlar ayrıca pupa ve ergin ağırlıkları ile ergin büyüklüğünün larva yoğunluğundaki artıştan olumsuz etkilendiğini göstermiştir. Larva yoğunluğunun C. vicina’nın yaşamsal parametreleri üzerinde önemli bir etkiye sahip olduğu ve bu durumun daha güvenilir PMI ölçümü için dikkate alınması gerektiği sonucuna varılmıştır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Calliphora vicina
• larva yoğunluğu
• beslenme
• hayatta kalma

Kaynakça

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