Multi-generation toxicity of zinc, cadmium, copper and lead to the potworm Enchytraeus albidus K. Lock*, C.R. Janssen Ghent University, Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology and Aquatic Ecology, J. Plateaustraat 22, 9000 Ghent, Belgium Received 1 December 2000; accepted 12 April 2001 ‘‘Capsule’’: A new test has been developed that considers the effects of metals on all life stages of the potworm over two generations. Abstract In standard chronic terrestrial toxicity tests with invertebrates, adult organisms are exposed to the contaminants and the number of offspring is quantified. These procedures do not allow the assessment of possible effects on all life stages of the organism, which may lead to an underestimation of the toxicity of the test substance. To evaluate the importance of this issue, the potworm Enchytraeus albidus was exposed to zinc, cadmium, copper and lead for two subsequent generations. Juvenile production was assessed for both generations. Considering the variability of metal toxicity data reported in the literature, it is concluded that the two generation assay did not markedly increase the sensitivity of the standard E. albidus test for the tested metals. Therefore, toxicity data obtained with the proposed test guideline with E. albidus are protective for all life stages. # 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Terrestrial ecotoxicity; Soil; Metals; Enchytraeids; Long-term toxicity 1. Introduction Guidelines for ecotoxicity tests with terrestrial inver- tebrates currently exist for the compost worm Eisenia fetida (ISO, 1996), the springtail Folsomia candida (ISO, 1999) and recently also became available for the pot- worm Enchytraeus albidus (OECD, 1999). In chronic toxicity assays with these organisms, adult organisms are exposed for several weeks after which the number of produced cocoons or juveniles is counted. Using this procedure, the test organisms are not exposed for a whole life cycle and therefore, the ecotoxicity of the test substance may be underestimated. Only a few studies are currently available that report on multi-generation experiments with terrestrial inver- tebrates. Reinecke et al. (1999) reported that a popula- tion of Eisenia fetida which had been exposed to elevated cadmium concentrations for more than 10 generations survived higher concentrations of cadmium than organisms not previously exposed. Spurgeon and Hopkin (2000) observed increased resistance of Eisenia fetida to zinc toxicity for F1 and F2 generations of organisms which were selected for zinc tolerance by exposure to elevated zinc concentrations in contact filter paper tests. However, these kind of studies were performed in order to assess the acclimatisation or adaptation potential to metals rather than to evaluate long-term toxicity. In the present study, Eisenia albidus was exposed for two subsequent generations to four metals to assess effects on all life stages and possible multi-generation effects. This research allows evaluation of the sensitivity of the current standard (one-generation) test procedure with Eisenia albidus and thus, provides information on the ecological relevance of this type of toxicity data for use in ecological risk assessments or derivation of soil quality standards. 0269-7491/02/$ - see front matter # 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. PII: S0269-7491(01)00156-7 Environmental Pollution 117 (2002) 89–92 www.elsevier.com/locate/envpol * Corresponding author. Tel.: +32-09-264-3707; fax: +32-09-264- 41-99. E-mail address: koen.lock@rug.ac.be (K. Lock).