The toxicity of cadmium for the Collembola Folsomia candida was studied by determining the effects of increasing Cd concentrations on growth, survival and reproduction in three cultivated and forested soils with different pH (4.5-8.2) and organic matter content (1.6-16.5%). The Cd concentration in soil CaCl(2) exchangeable fraction, in soil solution and in Collembola body was determined. At sim...

Silver nanoparticles (AgNP) are integrated into various products due to their antimicrobial characteristics and hence, the application of AgNP is increasing. During production, use and disposal AgNP are emitted and enter the environment via several pathways. Soils are considered a major sink of AgNP. The aim of the present study was to determine the toxic effect of AgNP on Folsomia candida repr...

Toxicity of cadmium to Folsomia candida was determined in soils at different pHs (3.5, 5.0, and 6.5). The Langmuir sorption constant (K(L)), based on pore-water or water-extractable concentrations, showed a pH-related increase of cadmium sorption that was most pronounced when using free Cd2+ ion activities ([Cd2+]s). Two-species Langmuir isotherms that used total cadmium concentration ([Cd]) or...

Prey organisms do not tolerate predator attack passively but react with a multitude of inducible defensive strategies. Although inducible defence strategies are well known in plants attacked by herbivorous insects, induced resistance of fungi against fungivorous animals is largely unknown. Resistance to fungivory is thought to be mediated by chemical properties of fungal tissue, i.e. by product...

The aim of the present study was to elucidate consistent patterns in chronic polycyclic aromatic compound (PAC) toxicity to soil and sediment inhabiting invertebrates. Therefore we examined our experimental dataset, consisting of twenty-one chronic effect concentrations for two soil invertebrates (Folsomia candida and Enchytraeus cripticus) and two sediment invertebrates (Lumbriculus variegatus...

Natural toxins, such as isothiocyanate (ITC), are harmful secondary metabolites produced by plants. Many natural toxins occur in commercial crops, yet their possible negative repercussions on especially non-target soil organisms are largely unknown. This study examined life-history and gene transcriptional responses to 2-phenylethyl ITC on two soil arthropod species: Folsomia candida and Protap...

In a two-species toxicity test system survival and reproduction of both the predator Hypoaspis aculeifer (Gamasida) and the prey Folsomia fimetaria (Collembola) were studied after 21 days of residual exposure to a soil contamination of the insecticide dimethoate. Additional experiments were run to analyze which species-species and compound-species relationships determine the outcome of this two...

The partitioning of organic soil pollutants into soil organisms is driven by their chemical activity, which normally does not exceed that of the pure pollutant. Passive dosing with the silicone poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) was used to initiate and maintain the maximum chemical activity of 10 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in toxicity tests with the springtail Folsomia candida. The tes...

The replacement of native Portuguese forests by Eucalyptus globulus is often associated with deleterious effects on terrestrial and aquatic communities. Several studies have suggested that such a phenomenon is linked with the leaf essential oils released into the environment during the Eucalyptus leaf degradation process. However, to date, the way these compounds affect leaf degradation in terr...

In general, effects of mixtures are difficult to describe, and most of the models in use are descriptive in nature and lack a strong mechanistic basis. The aim of this experiment was to develop a process-based model for the interpretation of mixture toxicity measurements, with effects of binary mixtures on survival as a starting point. The survival of Folsomia candida was monitored daily for 21...