Exploring the Potential of Terrestrial Isopoda, Porcellionides cingendus, for Assessing Environmental Sustainability

doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-3849832/v1

Introduction: Environmental sustainability is crucial for maintaining diverse and productive biological systems. Terrestrial isopods, such as Porcellionides cingendus, are known for their environmentally friendly characteristics and adaptability. This study explores the potential of P. cingendus in improving environmental sustainability.

Methods: Samples of P. cingendus were collected from various locations and reared in controlled environments. Waste consumption efficiency was evaluated by measuring the consumption of various cellulosic wastes over 15 days. Statistical analysis was performed using One-Way ANOVA.

Results and Discussion: P. cingendus individuals exhibited varying consumption rates for different types of wastes. Wood sawdust recorded the highest consumption percentage (99.2%), followed by citrus leaves (81.9%), potato peels (70.4%), Cynodon dactylon (68.4%), and cardboard (34.1%). The consumption differences can be attributed to dietary preference, food source, and digestibility. Wood sawdust, with its cellulose content, was highly attractive to P. cingendus. Citrus leaves were preferred due to their chemical composition and smell. However, cardboard was the least preferred, possibly due to its chemical composition and lack of easy digestibility.

Conclusion: P. cingendus, particularly its preference for wood sawdust and citrus leaves, shows potential for efficiently consuming cellulosic wastes, indicating their ability to contribute to environmental cleaning and sustainability. Understanding the waste consumption efficiency of P. cingendus can aid in developing strategies for waste management and ecological preservation. Further research is warranted to explore their role as bioindicators for assessing environmental sustainability.

Environmental Policy

Environmental Chemistry

Animal Science

Cellulosic wastes

Porcelliondes cingendus

Isopoda

Environmental Sustainability

Porcellionidae

Environmental sustainability is an ecological term that describes how biological systems remain diverse and productive over time (Edney et al., 2017). Sustainability concerns long-term methods to preserve the ecological quality of life, away from ecosystem pollution causatives (Proven 2016). Terrestriali isopods are one of the largest orders of subphylum: crustaceans, primarily described as environmentally friendly organisms (Ferderic, 2002). Isopods are crustaceans in their morphology and can adapt to diverse environments (Stinner and Jones, 2001).

Terrestrial isopods involve 17 family, the most important of which is the porcellionidae, known as woodlice or sowbug, to which P. cingendus (Kinahan, 1857) species belong (Calhoa et al., 1999). Many studies use Terrestrial isopods as models because of their high population density, which count to about 1120 individual/m² during September and 403 individual/m² during February. High in spring and autumn and low in winter and summer (Jawaire and Hassan, 2010; Zaxtao et al., 2012; Jasim and Jwear, 2014). Individuals of these species also show high aggregation and dispersion in their environment (Daoud et al., 2011), with many factors affecting their presence and density, including relative humidity, temperature, and the nature and acidity of the soil (Habib, 2016). Isopod species can coexist with many soil organisms, contributing to the decomposition of various residues wastes, and food type impacts their growth and productivity (Aaron, 2005; Al- Ameen and Jewaire, 2009). Woodlice are polytrophic, consume and decompose remnants of plants and animals, and are known as general environmental cleaners (Davis and Oran, 1993). The P. cingendus, like other isopod species, is found in high-moisture environments, under rocks or rotting wood and wastes (Catner, 2009).

Sowbug individuals play essential roles in the ecosystem, especially in nutrient recycling and food chain linking. They effectively transfer energy from producers to secondary consumers, such as small birds and other vertebrates above them (Oliver,1976; Jaweir and Albayati, 2016). They also contain high percentages of calcium and protein and were used to feed animals and as fertilizer to improve soil quality (Sutton et al., 1981). Furthermore, Terrestrial isopods are known bioindicators and have been used to indicate the bioaccumulation of heavy metals and pollutants (Warburg, 1995; Wieser et al., 1997 and Jasim, 2015) and as invertebrates bioindicators to assess the quality of water (Al-Ameen and Al-Jaff, 2022). This study aims to evaluate the potential of P. cingendus species, characterized by red-brown color with shades of yellow (Ford, 1987) and high activity in their environment (Ford, 1987; Roben et al., 2022), to clean the environment and improve sustainability.

Samples collection

Samples of P. cingendus (Kinahan, 1857) were collected from agricultural fields, parks, and palm groovers from Tarmiyah and Rashidiyah, Baghdad, Iraq, and Fallujah, Anbar, Iraq. Small soil-digging tools and plastic containers were used to collect the samples with some field soil (Figure 1). Samples were then transferred to the laboratory and were classified according to a protocol reported elsewhere (Harding and Bovera, 2004).

Artificial farms construction

To sustain P.cingendus species in a preferable and resembling environment, transparent plastic containers with a capacity of 20 liters were used, spread with a layer of agricultural soil and organic matter at a depth of 10 cm. A layer of dry plant leaves was also added with a food medium. The medium was moistened several times per week. The lab temperature was maintained between 23 and 26°C at an average relative humidity of 80%. Following a reported protocol (Bravara and Tamson, 2013), the containers were then covered with a dark cloth to create a dim environment. P. cingendus individuals were left to breed until the first generation (young) individuals were obtained, left to be one month of age, isolated from adults, and moved to a container with a similar environment until further use.

Waste consumption efficiency evaluation

Five large-sized glass dishes were prepared and furnished with large filter papers to ensure continuous hydration of the medium. Citrus leaves, wood sawdust, potato peels, Cynodon dactylon residues, and cardboard were used as waste for waste consumption evaluation. 8g of each was distributed in each dish, then washed and dried to remove suspended contaminants. The medium was moistened by adding drops of water in the corners and center of the dish. A number of 10 individuals of P.cingendus have been placed in each dish and moved to the environmentally resembling farms.

Then, waste consumption rates were recorded every three days for 15 days. The remaining weight of waste was recorded on day 15. The consumed waste was calculated by subtracting the original weight of waste from the remaining weight of waste. Five replicates were taken for each experimental group.

Statistical analysis

The one-way ANOVA test was used to evaluate the statistical differences among study groups. p-value<0.01 and p-value<0.05 were considered significant.

Every ten individuals of P. cingendus isopods consumed between 6.54g and 6.58g of the total weight of citrus leaves in each breeding medium, with an average consumption of 32.79g of the total 40g of citrus leaves wastes (Table 1). The consumption of wood sawdust residues by P. cingendus individuals was very high, reaching 7.97g, and the general consumption of the total samples was 39.68g of the whole wood sawdust waste (40g).

Potato peel wastes were also efficiently consumed, reaching 5.66g per sample (10 individuals) with 28.17g total consumption by 50 individuals of P. cingendus. Likewise, the total consumption of Cynodon dactylon plant by P.cingendus individuals was 27.36g. However, P. cingendus individuals showed poor consumption of cardboard residues, with a total waste consumption of 13.65g by 50 individuals.

Table 1. Waste consumption efficiency of P.cingendus individuals for the five types of waste.

Sample	Number of individuals	Weight before consumption (g)	Consumed weight (g)	Remaining weight (g)
Citrus leaves wastes
1	10	8	6.56	1.44
2	10	8	6.54	1.46
3	10	8	6.57	1.43
4	10	8	6.54	1.46
5	10	8	6.58	1.42
Total	50	40	32.79	7.21
Wood sawdust wastes
1	10	8	7.91	0.09
2	10	8	7.96	0.04
3	10	8	7.97	0.03
4	10	8	7.91	0.09
5	10	8	7.93	0.07
Total	50	40	39.68	0.32
Potato peels residues
1	10	8	5.62	2.38
2	10	8	5.63	2.37
3	10	8	5.62	2.38
4	10	8	5.64	2.36
5	10	8	5.66	2.34
Total	50	40	28.17	11.83
*Cynodon dactylon* wastes
1	10	8	5.46	2.54
2	10	8	5.49	2.51
3	10	8	5.47	2.53
4	10	8	5.45	2.55
5	10	8	5.49	2.51
Total	50	40	27.36	12.64
Cardboard wastes
1	10	8	2.71	5.29
2	10	8	2.72	5.28
3	10	8	2.74	5.26
4	10	8	2.77	5.23
5	10	8	2.71	5.29
Total	50	40	13.65	26.35

The total consumption of wood sawdust waste was the highest among the types of waste (39.68g), while cardboard waste consumed by individuals was the lowest (13.65g). The per capita consumption efficiency of isopods was 0.655, 0.793, 0.563, 0.547, and 0.273 mg for citrus leaves, wood sawdust, potato peels, Cynodon dactylon, and cardboard wastes, and the percentage of total consumption was 81.97%, 99.2%, 70.425%, 68.4%, and 34.1%, respectively (Table 2).

Table 2. Consumption efficiency of per capita P. cingendus and percentage of total consumption of wastes.

Type of cellulosic wastes	Total number of individuals	Weight of wastes before consumption (g)	Total consumption average (g)	Consumption efficiency per capita (mg)	Total consumption percentage (%)
Citrus leaves	50	40	32.79	0.655	81.975
Wood sawdust	50	40	39.68	0.793	99.2
Potato peels	50	40	28.17	0.563	70.425
Cynodon dactylom	50	40	27.36	0.547	68.4
Cardboard	50	40	13.65	0.273	34.125

***

The difference in the consumption percentage of the studied wastes can be attributed to dietary preference, food source and consumption acceptance, and the digestion ability of P. cingendus (Zander, 2019). The consumption of wood sawdust was the highest, which could be due to its mixture of different plant sources and its high content of cellulose, essential for isopods' growth and assimilation (Pitelka and Paeletti, 2022), which attracted P. cingendus individuals more than other waste (Figure 2, Figure 3, and Figure 4).

These terrestrial isopods preferred citrus leaves at a second degree, possibly due to the plant leaf's chemical composition and smell that can attract these individuals (Zymera et al., 2022). Potato peels and Cynodon dactylon plant waste were less consumed than wood sawdust since these residues have a solid texture. Consuming cardboard occupied the last preferred by P. cingendus, possibly due to cardboard’s chemical composition and inability of P. cingendus individuals to digest their covers easily.

In conclusion, the study demonstrated the potential of P. cingendus, a Terrestrial isopod species, for assessing environmental sustainability. The findings reveal the efficient consumption of cellulosic wastes by P. cingendus, with wood sawdust showing the highest consumption percentage (99.2%). The species exhibited preferences for certain types of waste, indicating their dietary preferences and digestibility. The results highlighted the role of P. cingendus in environmental cleaning and waste management. Understanding their waste consumption efficiency can contribute to developing sustainable waste management strategies. Moreover, P. cingendus holds promise as a bioindicator for assessing environmental sustainability. Further research is warranted to explore their potential applications and implications in ecological preservation efforts.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare no competing interests.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

Exploring the Potential of Terrestrial Isopoda, Porcellionides cingendus, for Assessing Environmental Sustainability

Status:

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Abstract

Figures

Introduction

Materials And Methods

Results And Discussion

Conclusion

Declarations

References

Additional Declarations

Status:

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