Terrestrial isopods are important detritivores, contributing to essential ecosystem services by breaking down plant material and recycling nutrients. Due to their ancestry (they are crustaceans, not insects) they seek out damp environments under for example rocks and logs. In Sweden there are several species of terrestrial isopods. One species is the common wood louse (Oniscus asellus), which can be commonly found in both gardens and natural environments in southern Sweden.
Urban environments contain a wide range of contaminants, released from human activities and industry. Because of this the natural species that live there are impacted in various ways, and adapt to their surroundings by changing their biological processes, but information about this is still scarce and should be investigated further. In this project we aim to investigate if wood lice in urban gardens/parks have different genetic variation/alleles compared to individuals that reside in nature reserves or national parks. It is of interest to determine if variability is higher or lower in urban environments and if some alleles are more common in the urban areas.
Specifically, the project consists of:
- Fieldwork where wood lice are collected from urban areas (primarily in Lund) and more undisturbed areas (rural)
- Extraction of DNA at the lab
- PCRs
- Sequencing of about 600 bp of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI) gene, which is highly variable in wood lice
- Identification of differences between urban – pristine areas
In addition, it is possible to have additional parameters analysed if there is interest/time allows, where levels of heavy metals or other contaminants can be identified and compared to the genetic variation results.
Start of project: Spring – Autumn 2024
Contact information:
Maria Hansson, maria.hansson@cec.lu.se
The Centre for Environmental and Climate Science (CEC)