Effects of gasoline and diesel fuel on testate amoebae communities

This article presents the results of a study on the effects of gasoline and diesel fuel on the numerical and species composition of the community of testae amoebae in light gray forest soil. It has been shown that soil invertebrates can be used as bioindicators of the environment pollution level. The authors studied the effect of gasoline and diesel fuel on testae amoebae communities in laboratory conditions. Oil contaminants were added in concentrations of 20 and 100 g/kg of dry soil. The site without pollutants was considered to be a control plot. Counting and analysis of invertebrate organisms was carried with the help of BIOMED-2 microscope with an increase of × 160. The testae amoebae accounting was made by direct microscoping of the soil suspension. Oil contamination with the concentration of 200 g / kg has the greatest impact on the structure and size of the communities. On the study sites contaminated with gasoline and diesel fuel in different concentrations, 14 species of testae amoebae were identified i...