engleski

The usage of Arduino based CO2 (NDIR) sensors in research of earthworm physiology and ecotoxicology

Object. The aim of this study was to exploit the possible usage of simple lowcost Arduino based sensor systems to detect changes in earthworm respiration. Also, it was tested whether differentiation can be made between control and treatments with either pesticides added or changed environmental variables (temperature, moisture). Additionally, interspecific differences were assessed. Method. An inexpensive non-dispersive infrared (NDIR) CO2 sensor was coupled with the Arduino UNO as a microcontroller to power the sensor and receive digital output. The system was tested by measuring the difference in CO2 output from the control and the treatments within a filter paper test setup and an artificial soil test set up. The treatments consisted of different pesticide concentrations (chlorpyrifos) added (experiment 1) and different air temperature (experiment 2). To test the interspecific differences the system was tested with three earthworm species: Eisenia fetida, Dendrobaena veneta and Lumbricus terrestris. Result. The results showed a significant difference in CO2 outputs between control and various treatments, i.e. the difference in respiration rate was detected. The exposure to pesticide induced respiration rate, as well as a higher temperature treatment. Different earthworm species tested shown the same trend in respiration response, but the interspecific differences could also be detected. Conclusion. The presented low-cost system for respiration measurements was proven to be suitable to detect changes induced either by xenobiotics or environmental variables. The measurement systems as the one presented in this study could become a useful tool in ecotoxicology and climate change research due to its sensitivity and affordability.

NDIR, CO2, respiration, arduino

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