Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35088916›Full record

ArticleEnvironmental toxicology and chemistry2022

Persistent, Bioaccumulative, and Toxic Chemicals in Wild Alpine Insects: A Methodological Case Study.

Veronika Rosa Hierlmeier, Nils Struck, Patrick Krapf, Timotheus Kopf, Anna Malena Hofinger, Viktoria Leitner, Philipp Jakob Ernest Stromberger, Korbinian Peter Freier, Florian Michael Steiner, Birgit Christiane Schlick-Steiner

Open access · hybridAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Environmental toxicology and chemistry, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
3.2field-weighted citation impact, top 8% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 9 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Veronika Rosa HierlmeierDepartment of Ecology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria.
Nils StruckDepartment of Ecology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria.
Patrick KrapfDepartment of Ecology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria.ORCID 0000-0002-1625-4473
Timotheus KopfDepartment of Ecology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria.
Anna Malena HofingerDepartment of Ecology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria.
Viktoria LeitnerDepartment of Ecology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria.
Philipp Jakob Ernest StrombergerDepartment of Ecology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria.
Korbinian Peter FreierBavarian Environment Agency, Augsburg, Germany.ORCID 0000-0001-9851-8374
Florian Michael SteinerDepartment of Ecology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria.
Birgit Christiane Schlick-SteinerDepartment of Ecology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria.
Universität Innsbruck · AT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

With their high persistence in the environment and their potential for long-range atmospheric transport, persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic chemicals (PBTs) may be among the numerous anthropogenic threats to insect populations worldwide. The effects of PBTs on insects have been investigated in the laboratory, but topical field studies are scarce. A reason might be the multiple challenges faced by PBT-related field studies on wild insects. We studied two species of bumblebees (Bombus spp.) and of ants (Formica spp.) in two high-elevation locations in the Austrian and German Alps to tackle two of these challenges. First, PBTs occur in minuscule concentrations compared with other substances in the environment. Therefore, the practicability of body burden data from pooled individuals was tested. Second, fitness proxies like fecundity, which typically are endpoints for chemical toxicity, are difficult to quantify in the field. Hence, fluctuating asymmetry of bumblebee wings and ant heads was tested as an alternative endpoint. To exclude the possibility that fluctuating asymmetry was caused by genetic stressors, inbreeding levels were estimated using population-genetic markers, and their relationships to fluctuating asymmetry in the same individuals were assessed. We successfully quantified polychlorinated biphenyls and Hg as PBTs using the pooled samples and found PBT data from pooled individuals useful, in that significant correlations to fluctuating asymmetry were identified in bumblebees and ants. This finding confirmed the potential of fluctuating asymmetry to indicate PBT effects in wild insects. Inbreeding did not interfere with PBT links to fluctuating asymmetry in any instance. Our findings contribute to the development of a quantitative methodological framework for investigating the effects of persistent environmental chemicals on wild insects. Environ Toxicol Chem 2022;41:1215-1227. © 2022 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC.

Indexed as

MercuryAnimalsBeesBioaccumulationEcotoxicologyHumansInsectaMercuryBioaccumulationGeometric morphometricsInsect declineMercuryPersistent organic pollutantsPolychlorinated biphenyls

Identifiers

PMID35088916
PMCPMC9311829
OpenAlexW4210368897

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.