title: Folsomia candida (Collembola): a "standard" soil arthropod.
abstract: Folsomia candida Willem 1902, a member of the order Collembola (colloquially called springtails), is a common and widespread arthropod that occurs in soils throughout the world. The species is parthenogenetic and is easy to maintain in the laboratory on a diet of granulated dry yeast. F. candida has been used as a "standard" test organism for more than 40 years for estimating the effects of pesticides and environmental pollutants on nontarget soil arthropods. However, it has also been employed as a model for the investigation of numerous other phenomena such as cold tolerance, quality as a prey item, and effects of microarthropod grazing on pathogenic fungi and mycorrhizae of plant roots. In this comprehensive review, aspects of the life history, ecology, and ecotoxicology of F. candida are covered. We focus on the recent literature, especially studies that have examined the effects of soil pollutants on reproduction in F. candida using the protocol published by the International Standards Organization in 1999.
authors.affiliation: Center for Agri-Environmental Research, Department of Agriculture, University of Reading, Reading, RG6 6AR, United Kingdom. m.t.fountain@reading.ac.uk
authors.forename: Michelle T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Fountain
authors.forename: Steve P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Hopkin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001181:Arthropods / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D004463:Ecology; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D007306:Insecticides / Q000494:pharmacology; D010572:Pest Control, Biological; D010935:Plant Diseases; D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000494:pharmacology; D018675:Toxicity Tests
chemical_list: D007306:Insecticides; D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants