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Anthropogenic changes in sodium affect neural and muscle development in butterflies

2014; National Academy of Sciences; Volume: 111; Issue: 28 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1073/pnas.1323607111

1091-6490

Emilie C. Snell‐Rood, Anne Espeset, Christopher J. Boser, William A. White, Rhea Smykalski,

Amphibian and Reptile Biology

Significance Sodium is an essential micronutrient that is often limited in animal diets. It is important in the development of neural tissue and thought to have driven the evolution of specific foraging behavior. Human activity is drastically altering patterns of sodium availability, particularly through road salt application, but we know little about the consequences of such anthropogenic change on the development and evolution of wild animals. Here, we show that road salt runoff affects sodium concentrations of roadside plants, which in turn, have significant, (sometimes positive) effects on neural and muscular development of herbivores. These results suggest that anthropogenic changes in sodium can have major consequences for both behavioral development and selection on foraging behavior.