Abstract:

Phylum Arthropoda is the largest group of animals, comprising more than one million species, most of which are insects. Other arthropods include crustaceans, spiders, ticks, mites, and other less-known species. Arthropods are found in all environments, including both fresh and marine waters. Two classes of arthropods are used extensively in toxicity testing: crustaceans and insects. Test procedures are described for several crustacean groups, including Daphnia (Section 8711), Ceriodaphnia (Section 8712), mysids (Section 8714), and decapods (Section 8740). Representatives of the insect orders belonging to stoneflies, mayflies, caddisflies, and dipterans are the most commonly used groups in aquatic testing (Section 8750).