A comparison of Collembola species for toxicity testing of Australian soils

Two Australian Collembola species were selected for use in toxicity testing because they are more ecologically relevant to Australian soils than Folsomia candida Willem. A number of easily-collected local species were assessed but were not suitable for toxicity tests because they were too difficult to maintain in culture or their reproduction rates in artificial soil were too low. Two species, Sinella communis Chen & Christiansen and Proisotoma minuta (Tullberg, 1871), reproduced rapidly in culture and compared favourably with F. candida, the standard test species in Europe. Proisotoma minuta was found to be more difficult to count than S. communis because of its smaller size and less conspicuous colour. Sinella communis was easy to count and found to be more sensitive to most toxicants and contaminated soils than F. candida, so is the preferred species for toxicological testing of soils in Australia. All three species are near cosmopolitan and probably introduced to Australia but F. candida is very rare while S. communis and P. minuta are common in Australian soils. The use of avoidance as an endpoint for toxicity assessment of soils was also investigated.