Additive and dose-dependent mixture effects of Flumite 200 (flufenzin, acaricide) and Quadris (azoxystrobin, fungicide) on the reproduction and survival of Folsomia candida (Collembola)

<p>&nbsp;Our&nbsp;model&nbsp;organism&nbsp;was&nbsp;Folsomia&nbsp;candida&nbsp;(Collembola).&nbsp;We&nbsp;aimed to&nbsp;gain&nbsp;information&nbsp;on&nbsp;the&nbsp;toxicity&nbsp;of&nbsp;Quadris&nbsp;(azoxystrobin)&nbsp;and&nbsp;Flumite&nbsp;200&nbsp;(flufenzine&nbsp;aka.&nbsp;diflovidazine)&nbsp;on survival&nbsp;and&nbsp;reproduction&nbsp;and&nbsp;whether&nbsp;the&nbsp;animals&nbsp;can&nbsp;mitigate&nbsp;the&nbsp;toxicity&nbsp;with&nbsp;soil&nbsp;and/or&nbsp;food&nbsp;avoidance&nbsp;behaviour.&nbsp;Also,&nbsp;we&nbsp;aimed&nbsp;to&nbsp;test&nbsp;the&nbsp;effect&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;mixture&nbsp;of&nbsp;these&nbsp;two&nbsp;pesticides.&nbsp;We&nbsp;used&nbsp;the&nbsp;OECD&nbsp;232&nbsp;reproduction&nbsp;test,&nbsp;a&nbsp;soil&nbsp;avoidance&nbsp;test,&nbsp;and&nbsp;a&nbsp;food&nbsp;choice&nbsp;test&nbsp;for&nbsp;both&nbsp;single&nbsp;pesticides&nbsp;and&nbsp;their&nbsp;mixture.&nbsp;We&nbsp;prepared&nbsp;the&nbsp;mixtures&nbsp;based&nbsp;on&nbsp;the&nbsp;concentration&nbsp;addition&nbsp;model,&nbsp;so&nbsp;the&nbsp;50%&nbsp;effective&nbsp;concentrations&nbsp;(EC50)&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;single&nbsp;materials&nbsp;were&nbsp;used&nbsp;as&nbsp;one&nbsp;toxic&nbsp;unit&nbsp;with&nbsp;a&nbsp;constant&nbsp;ratio&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;two&nbsp;materials&nbsp;in&nbsp;the&nbsp;mixture.&nbsp;In&nbsp;the&nbsp;end,&nbsp;the&nbsp;measured&nbsp;mixture&nbsp;EC&nbsp;and&nbsp;LC&nbsp;(lethal&nbsp;concentration)&nbsp;values&nbsp;were&nbsp;compared&nbsp;to&nbsp;the&nbsp;estimate&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;concentration&nbsp;addition&nbsp;model.</p>