1 Preface

Toxicity testing with the collembolans Folsomia fimetaria and Folsomia candida and the results of a ringtest

Collembolans have been used for ecotoxicological testing for about 4 decades now but they have not yet had the privilege to enter into the OECD test guideline programme. Thus, as a proposal for OECD, two different collembolans, namely Folsomia fimetaria and Folsomia candida are introduced, and the results of a ringtest and a draft test guideline are presented. F. candida is already a well-established testing species and is extensively used for ecotoxicological testing as a representative for soil arthropods, with an ISO standard available since 1999. For F. fimetaria a testing protocol was published in 1998 as an outcome of DK-EPA and EU projects. International guidelines for chemical testing have occasionally included more than one species or included optional species that may be preferred for various reasons, such as representability and target habitat. In the case of alternatives to F. candida we include F. fimetaria due to its sexual mode of reproduction and worldwide distribution in natural and agricultural habitats in contrast to the asexually reproducing F. candida, which is not present in many types of natural and agricultural habitats. Furthermore, additional details needed to perform testing with F. fimetaria are provided.

With F. fimetaria as an optional testing species, the complete biology of the sexual reproduction, lacking for F. candida, will now be included as a potential target for any chemical being tested, including sex hormone disrupting chemicals. As stated in OECD Monograph No. 21 (OECD, 2002), progress in the field of endocrine disrupters is limited by the absence of chemicals accepted as suitable for use as references. Although this is the case too with F. fimetaria, its introduction as a test species nevertheless is needed as no other arthropods, i.e. F. candida, are suitable as a test species in this respect.