Polymorphism in Porcellio scaber (Latreille) (Order: Isopoda, Family: Porcellionidae)

Abstract

Variation in body colouration was studied in the common garden woodlouse, Porcellio scaber (Latrielle). Samples of woodlice were obtained from Trentham to Picton. Only five of the colourmorphs found occurred in numbers large enough to be used in the statistical analyses, and for these body colour darkens with age. Soil and atmospheric variables were obtained from each sample area. Analyses revealed that calcium and pH were the factors most significantly related to woodlouse colour distribution. The enzyme Phosphoglucose isomerase (PGI) was studied in woodlice from the Lower Hutt and Picton locations and used as an example of polymorphism at the gene product level. The PGI allele was shown to exist in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium for all samples tested. Colour distribution was shown not to be a good indicator of genetic variability.