The rapid and selective responses to changes in habitat structure and climate have made butterflies valuable environmental indicators. In this study, we asked whether the decline in butterfly populations near the copper-nickel smelter in Monchegorsk in northwestern Russia is accompanied by phenotypic stress responses to toxic pollutants, expressed as a decrease in body size and an increase in fluctuating asymmetry. We measured the concentrations of nickel and copper, forewing length, and fluctuating asymmetry in two elements of wing patterns in Boloria euphrosyne, Plebejus idas, and Agriades optilete collected 1–65 km from Monchegorsk. Body metal concentrations increased toward the smelter, confirming the local origin of the collected butterflies. The wings of butterflies from the most polluted sites were 5–8% shorter than those in unpolluted localities, suggesting adverse effects of pollution on butterfly fitness due to larval feeding on contaminated plants. However, fluctuating asymmetry averaged across two hindwing spots did not change systematically with pollution, thereby questioning the use of fluctuating asymmetry as an indicator of habitat quality in butterfly conservation projects.

中文翻译：

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蝶形翼型的波动不对称性不会随着工业污染梯度的变化而变化

对栖息地结构和气候变化的快速而有选择性的反应使蝴蝶成为有价值的环境指标。在这项研究中，我们询问俄罗斯西北部蒙奇戈尔斯克铜镍冶炼厂附近蝴蝶种群的减少是否伴随着对有毒污染物的表型应激反应，表现为体型减少和波动性不对称性增加。我们测量了Boloria euphrosyne，Plebejus idas和Agriades optilete中翼型的两个元素中镍和铜的浓度，前伸长度和波动的不对称性从Monchegorsk收集了1–65公里。主体金属的浓度向冶炼厂增加，这证实了所收集蝴蝶的本地起源。受污染最严重的地方的蝴蝶翅膀比未受污染的地方的蝴蝶翅膀短5–8％，这表明由于幼虫摄食受污染的植物而造成的污染对蝴蝶的适应性产生了不利影响。然而，在两个后spots斑上平均的波动不对称性并没有随污染而系统地改变，因此对波动不对称性作为蝴蝶保护项目中栖息地质量指标的使用提出了质疑。