Пластичність морфометричних ознак Calliphora vicina (Diptera, Calliphoridae) у постійних і мінливих температурних умовах культивування
Variability of the morphometric features of Calliphora vicina (Diptera, Calliphoridae) under the varying and constant micro-climatic condi-tions

Summary/Abstract: Variability of the main morphometric features of imago flies Calliphora vicina R.-D. (Diptera, Calliphoridae) of two samples was studied. First sample consists of individuals caught in the wild (park ecosystems of Dnipropetrovsk), the second one – specimens cultured in the laboratory under the constant temperature and humidity. Possible using of C. vicina R.-D. as a bioindicator of anthropogenic factors is analysed. Environmental factors may act as the stimulators of adaptive changes in physiological functions, as the constraints that cause impossibility of the existence of certain species in particular conditions, and as modifiers that determine the morpho- anatomical and physiological changes in organisms. The most significant differences between studied samples were found for the width (“laboratory” individuals are characterized by larger head size) and for the length of limbs segments. The fluctuating range of the head width in specimens collected in the wild is much wider, due to the heterogeneity of the micro-climatic conditions of the larvae development and trophic resources. Maximal negative asymmetry of the head width is observed in individuals C. vicina R.-D. of the “natural” sample as compared with “laboratory” individuals. Among imagoes caught in the wild the individuals with a relatively wide head are dominated, as evidenced by the large positive value of kurtosis. At the same time, the distribution of values in “laboratory” individuals is almost normal. In adults bred in the laboratory the shortening of segments of the leg pair I is observed in comparison with the individuals of “natural” sample. Similar results were recorded for other insect groups cultivated in a laboratory. For most other linear measurements of the C. vicina R.-D. body the differences between samples are not registered. Ephemeral existence of the substrate of blow flies leads to higher prevailing evolutionary adaptation of species to varying micro-climatic conditions inside cadaveric material. A minor variation of morphometric characteristics indicates the resistance to changes in abiotic environmental factors. Thus, use of Calliphora vicina R.-D. (in the temperature range of +17…+28 °C) as an indicator species of changes in the environmental temperature factor is not appropriate.

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