Environmental- and growth stage-related differences in the susceptibility of terrestrial isopods to UV radiation

Global environmental changes are nowadays one of the most important issues affecting terrestrial ecosystems. One of its most significant expressions is the increasing ultraviolet radiation (UVR) arising from the human-induced depletion in ozone layer. Therefore, to investigate the effects of UVR on the terrestrial isopod Porcellionides pruinosus a multiple biomarker approach was carried out. Two experiments were performed in order to analyze the importance of the exposure environment and the growth stage on the UV-induced damages. First, adult individuals were exposed to UVR in three exposure environments (soil, soil with leaves, and plaster). Thereafter, three growth stages using soil as the exposure condition were tested. Integrated biomarker responses (IBR) suggested that UV effects were higher in plaster, and mostly identified by changes in acetylcholinesterase and glutathione-S-transferases activities, lipid peroxidation rates, and total energy available. The effects in soil and soil with leaves were not so clear. In the growth stages’ experiment, juveniles and pre-adults were found to be more affected than adults, with the greatest differences between irradiated and non-irradiated isopods occurring in energy-related parameters. Our findings suggest that soil surface-living macrofauna may be prone to deleterious effects caused by UVR, highlighting the importance of taking the media of exposure and growth stage in account.