Establishing a Lab Bait Lamina test for ecotoxicological risk assessment

The bait lamina test measures the feeding activity of soil invertebrates by determining the number of consumed organic bait that are embedded in plastic strips inserted vertically in the soil. An ISO standard (ISO 18311 2016) is available since 2016 to assess the effects of soil contaminants on the feeding activity of soil dwelling organisms in the field. Despite promising perspectives, the bait lamina test is still little used for laboratory approaches. The aim of the project is to further develop the use of the bait lamina test in the laboratory for ecotoxicological risk assessment.

For use as a bioindicator tool, first the sensitivity of the soil organisms to degrade the organic matter in the baits in the bait lamina sticks will be tested. Two different soil types are tested with and without removal of the soil organisms and the reaction to pollutants is determined. In addition, the variability of the test is determined for different soil types. Furthermore, a combination of the bait lamina test and a reproduction test for mesofauna (enchytraeids or collembolans) will be developed and the potential of this combined test will be analysed.