Behavioral Analysis of Folsomia Candida (Collembola) with Herbicide Using Electronic and Computational Instrumentation: Bioassays

In view of the constant biological researches, it is important to highlight the necessity to develop new instrumentation techniques. In this way, it is possible to use organisms as biological sensors to define new methodologies for a better understanding of the behavior of living beings. Indiscriminate contamination of soil by herbicide has been receiving more attention due to the increase in agriculture and the world population growth. This work presents a technique to analyze the behavior of the Folsomia candida when it is exposed to an area with an herbicide containing glyphosate. The tests used concentrations of the contaminant at the 1:50 and 1:100 dilutions and the media preparation followed culture standards. The computational system developed proved to be efficient and promising to detect Folsomia candida movements when subjected to environmental contamination. In the analysis of the results, we sought to understand the organism's preference between contaminated and uncontaminated area, and the preference of the resting places and media. The results indicated preference of the organism for the uncontaminated areas, in the two dilutions used. Thus, the system created and the applied methodology can be used in preliminary toxicity tests, for example, tests on chemical compounds and their possible effects in the soil.