Heavy metal contaminations can be considered as one of the serious environmental pollution and may have adverse effects on different organisms. This study was carried out to search how rearing the cabbage aphid (Brevicoryne brassicae L.) on heavy metal contaminated host plants affects aphid life history traits. The results revealed that both radish and cabbage host plants (Raphanus sativus L., Brassica oleracea L) contaminated separately with copper (Cu) and lead (Pb) have an important effects on life history traits of aphids. The life history traits such as fecundity (number of offspring produced per day) and fitness (intrinsic rate of population increase) were reduced about 30% when aphids were reared on contaminated host plants. However, no concise effects were found in case of development time (from birth to beginning of first reproduction). Reproduction potential of aphid population signficantly decreased and their mortality tended to be higher about 20% on contaminated host plants. Cu and Pb had different impacts on life history traits of aphids living on the same host plant, and the same heavy metal had different effects on aphid life history traits across host plants. The uptake of Cu and Pb by cabbage aphids feeding on contaminated host plants affected life history traits due to direct toxity or reduced food quality of host plants. Results are discussed in the context of the possible effects of heavy metal pollution on herbivore-host plant relationships. This study indicates that aphid-host plant system has several advantages to study the heavy metal pollution effects on food chain in nature.
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