Energy Reserves and Distribution of Metals in Populations of the Isopod Porcellio scaber from Metal-Contaminated Sites

Abstract

Environmental pollution is often accompanied by changes in the energy budgets of organisms living in the polluted area. This study investigated whether metal soil pollution affected energy reserves (protein, glycogen and lipid content) and resistance to starvation in isopods (Porcellio scaber), sampled from a reference, mine and smelter area. Mine isopods were in good physiological condition compared to the reference isopods because energy reserves (lipid, glycogen and protein) in the hepatopancreas were not decreased compared to the reference isopods. In the smelter isopods energy reserves were lower, especially in the largest isopods, which contained the highest zinc, copper and cadmium concentrations