Preliminary investigation of effects of copper on a terrestrial population of the antarctic rotifer Philodina sp.

Terrestrial microinvertebrates in Antarctica are potentially exposed to contaminants due to the concentration of human activity on ice-free areas of the continent. As such, knowledge of the response of Antarctic microinvertebrates to contaminants is important to determine the extent of anthropogenic impacts. Antarctic Philodina sp. were extracted from soils and mosses at Casey station, East Antarctica and exposed to aqueous Cu for 96 h. The Philodina sp. was sensitive to excess Cu, with concentrations of 36 μg L-1 Cu (48 h) and 24 μg L-1 Cu (96 h) inhibiting activity by 50%. This is the first study to be published describing the ecotoxicologically derived sensitivity of a rotifer from a terrestrial population to metals, and an Antarctic rotifer to contaminants. It is also the first study to utilise bdelloid rotifer cryptobiosis (chemobiosis) as a sublethal ecotoxicological endpoint. This preliminary investigation highlights the need for further research into the responses of terrestrial Antarctic microinvertebrates to contaminants.