Fridericia peregrinabunda (Enchytraeidae) as a new test species for soil toxicity assessment

The present study proposes Fridericia peregrinabunda (Michaelsen, 1913) as a new test species for assessment of soil ecotoxicity. Fridericia is the richest genus in the Enchytraeidae family (Oligochaeta: Annelida: Clitellata: Enchytraeidae), and widely distributed. The acute toxicity of cadmium (Cd) and antimony (Sb) on the survival of F. peregrinabunda were investigated in laboratory experiments. Adult survival of F. peregrinabunda in metal spiked soil was reduced. Cadmium was more toxic to F. peregrinabunda than Sb. In the artificial soil toxicity tests, the LC50 values for F. peregrinabunda exposed to Cd and Sb for 48 h were 37, and 446 mg kg−1, respectively. The NOEC values for Cd and Sb were 20 and 100 mg kg−1 up to 48 h exposure, respectively. This is the first report on the ecotoxicological assay of contaminated soils using the enchytraeids F. peregrinabunda as a test species. It can be concluded that F. peregrinabunda is a suitable test species to measure the acute toxicity of heavy metals, and this species is more sensitive to Cd and Sb than earthworm. The filter paper contact test and 2 day-artificial soil toxicity test appear to be rapid and cost-effective protocols for the potworm assay.