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Evaluation of growth and reproduction as indicators of soil metal toxicity to the Collembolan, Sinella curviseta
Author(s) -
Xu Jie,
Ke Xin,
Krogh Paul Henning,
Wang Yin,
Luo YongMing,
Song Jing
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
insect science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.991
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1744-7917
pISSN - 1672-9609
DOI - 10.1111/j.1744-7917.2009.00254.x
Subject(s) - reproduction , biology , toxicology , zoology , metal toxicity , toxicity , heavy metals , environmental chemistry , ecology , chemistry , organic chemistry
Abstract Laboratory studies evaluated the sensitivity of Sinella curviseta Brook (Collembola: Entomobryidae) to selected heavy metals (Cu, Pb and Zn). Survival, reproduction and growth of S. curviseta were determined in a 4‐week exposure test in an agricultural soil amended with metals to concentrations of 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600 and 3200 mg/kg. Results showed reduction in adult survival and reproductive failure at the highest concentrations (3200 mg/kg) of Cu and Zn. EC 50 reproduction values for Cu and Zn were approximately 442 and 2760 mg/kg, respectively. Application of Pb at all levels resulted in large numbers of progeny and no significant mortality compared to controls. Adult growth rate decreased for all metal treatments compared to the controls, suggesting that metals affect S. curviseta metabolism and result in slower growth. We showed that reproduction is a slightly more sensitive parameter than growth. Since a growth test needs fewer juveniles and takes less time than a reproduction test, we conclude that the two parameters are complementary and could be used for a better ecotoxicological evaluation of contaminant levels. However, relative growth and reproduction sensitivities should be tested with more chemicals before a growth test is accepted as a faster sublethal test than a reproduction test.