Ref ID : 505
Wei-chun Ma and Jos Bodt; Differences in toxicity of the insecticide chlorpyrifos to six species of earthworms (Oligochaeta, Lumbricidae) in standardized soil tests. Bull.Environ.Contam.Toxicol. 50:864-870, 1993
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The choice of the earthworm species for use in the laboratory screening of chemicals remains a matter of controversy. The earthworm Eisenia fetida has been specified as a test species in current international standards for testing the acute lethality of chemicals to earthworms (OECD 1984; EEC 1985). E. fetida is a compost-dwelling species convenient for captive breeding. However, its ecological representativeness for soil-dwelling species may be questioned. From an ecotoxicological point of view it is important to know how the susceptibility of Eisenia fetida to chemicals compares to that of other species of earthworms. The aim of the present study was to compare the laboratory toxicity of the pesticide chemical chlorpyrifos to six species of earthworms. Acute lethality tests were conducted as well as tests assessing the effect of chlorpyrifos on earthworm reproduction. Additional control tests were carried out with chloracetamide as a toxic reference control tests were carried out with suggest that chlorpyrifos shows a considerable and specific species-related variation in toxicity to earthworm.