{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,11,5]],"date-time":"2026-11-05T16:45:56Z","timestamp":1793897156112,"version":"4.8.0"},"reference-count":39,"publisher":"Oxford University Press (OUP)","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,21]],"date-time":"2026-03-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1774051200000},"content-version":"am","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Eawag internal fund and an FHNW IEC in kind contribution"},{"name":"the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation)\u2014Project","award":["391977956\u2014SFB 1357"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["391977956\u2014SFB 1357"]}]},{"name":"the European Union\u2019s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme","award":["No. 101000210"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["No. 101000210"]}]},{"name":"PAPILLONS\u2014Plastic in Agricultural Production: Impacts, Life-cycles and LONg-term Sustainability"},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100010761","name":"Syngenta","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100010761","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Syngenta Limited, Jealott\u2019s Hill International Research Centre, Bracknell, Berkshire","award":["RG42 6EY"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["RG42 6EY"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>Ecotoxicological tests with soil organisms, such as the collembola Folsomia candida, are essential for assessing chemical risks in terrestrial ecosystems. However, the current Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) 232 reproduction tests rely on manual counting of juvenile and adult Collembola, a process that is costly, labor-intensive, time-consuming, and prone to operator bias. These limitations restrict data availability and hinder robust risk assessments. We therefore developed COLLEMBOT, an automated counting tool based on a YOLOv11 convolutional neural network, designed to integrate seamlessly into OECD workflows without protocol modifications. The model was trained on high-resolution images (n = 3,207) from multiple laboratories and validated using 22 independent datasets (n = 1,704 images) from Amsterdam (Netherlands), Basel (Switzerland), Bayreuth (Germany), Coimbra (Portugal), and Aarhus (Denmark). Datasets consisted of relevant standard soils (OECD artificial soils with 2.5%, 5%, and 10% sphagnum peat; LUFA 2.2) and the springtail Folsomia candida. Automated counts showed strong agreement with manual counts (R2 \u00a0= 0.79\u20130.99). Dose-response curves derived from automated and manual counts strongly overlapped and effect concentrations (EC10 and EC50) differed minimally (median %\u0394 6.2 \u00b1 23 and EC10\u2013EC90 R2 \u2265 0.977), remaining within acceptable limits for regulatory risk assessment and confirming reliability. Time efficiency improved significantly: a test with approximately 300 images and up to 1,500 individuals per image was processed in less than 3\u2009hr, compared to approximately 137\u2009hr needed for manual counting, a reduction of approximately 97%. By reducing labor and improving reproducibility, COLLEMBOT enables broader hazard data generation for Collembola, supporting science-based chemical risk assessment. The code and workflow are publicly available to facilitate adoption and community-driven development.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1093\/etojnl\/vgag068","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,21]],"date-time":"2026-03-21T10:23:25Z","timestamp":1774088605000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["COLLEMBOT: AI-based counting of Collembola for OECD 232 tests"],"prefix":"10.1093","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0004-0581-6487","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Micha","family":"Wehrli","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Environmental Chemistry, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology\u2014Eawag , D\u00fcbendorf,","place":["Switzerland"]},{"name":"Institute for Ecopreneurship, School of Life Sciences, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW) , Muttenz,","place":["Switzerland"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8652-1477","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Adrian","family":"Meyer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute Geomatics, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW) , Muttenz,","place":["Switzerland"]},{"name":"Remote Sensing Spectroscopy, Department of Geography, University of Zurich , Zurich,","place":["Switzerland"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0001-3344-0104","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"\u00c9verton","family":"Souza da Silva","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Bayreuth Centre of Ecology and Environmental Research (BayCEER) , Bayreuth,","place":["Germany"]},{"name":"Statistical Ecotoxicology, University of Bayreuth , Bayreuth,","place":["Germany"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1905-2057","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sam","family":"van Loon","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Amsterdam Institute for Life and Environment (A-LIFE), Faculty of Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam , Amsterdam,","place":["The Netherlands"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0085-1302","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bart G","family":"van Hall","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Amsterdam Institute for Life and Environment (A-LIFE), Faculty of Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam , Amsterdam,","place":["The Netherlands"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5651-0208","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Cornelis A M","family":"van Gestel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Amsterdam Institute for Life and Environment (A-LIFE), Faculty of Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam , Amsterdam,","place":["The Netherlands"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1628-5894","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tiago","family":"Natal-da-Luz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Cloverstrategy Lda, Instituto Pedro Nunes , Coimbra,","place":["Portugal"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-3672-4820","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Max V R","family":"D\u00f6ring","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Animal Population Ecology, Animal Ecology I, University of Bayreuth , Bayreuth,","place":["Germany"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6797-5126","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Heike","family":"Feldhaar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Bayreuth Centre of Ecology and Environmental Research (BayCEER) , Bayreuth,","place":["Germany"]},{"name":"Animal Population Ecology, Animal Ecology I, University of Bayreuth , Bayreuth,","place":["Germany"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0074-6067","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Magdalena","family":"Mair","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Bayreuth Centre of Ecology and Environmental Research (BayCEER) , Bayreuth,","place":["Germany"]},{"name":"Animal Population Ecology, Animal Ecology I, University of Bayreuth , Bayreuth,","place":["Germany"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Denis","family":"Jordan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute Geomatics, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW) , Muttenz,","place":["Switzerland"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8751-974X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Miriam","family":"Langer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Environmental Chemistry, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology\u2014Eawag , D\u00fcbendorf,","place":["Switzerland"]},{"name":"Institute for Ecopreneurship, School of Life Sciences, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW) , Muttenz,","place":["Switzerland"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"286","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"2026051711413082200_vgag068-B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1451","DOI":"10.1002\/etc.5323","article-title":"Automated counting of daphnid neonates, Artemia nauplii, and zebrafish eggs: A proof of concept","volume":"41","author":"Abreu","year":"2022","journal-title":"Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry"},{"key":"2026051711413082200_vgag068-B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","author":"Akiba","year":"2019","DOI":"10.1145\/3292500.3330701"},{"key":"2026051711413082200_vgag068-B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e98230","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0098230","article-title":"New method for automatic body length measurement of the Collembolan, Folsomia candida Willem 1902 (Insecta: Collembola)","volume":"9","author":"B\u00e1nszegi","year":"2014","journal-title":"PLoS One"},{"key":"2026051711413082200_vgag068-B4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"105","DOI":"10.1109\/ICCV.2001.937505","article-title":"Interactive graph cuts for optimal boundary & region segmentation of objects in N-D images","volume":"1","author":"Boykov","year":"2001"},{"key":"2026051711413082200_vgag068-B5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/CISP.2011.6100624","article-title":"Automatic counting the number of Collembola in digital images","author":"Caridade","year":"2011"},{"key":"2026051711413082200_vgag068-B6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1405","DOI":"10.1111\/gcb.14020","article-title":"Microplastics as an emerging threat to terrestrial ecosystems","volume":"24","author":"De Souza Machado","year":"2018","journal-title":"Global Change Biology"},{"key":"2026051711413082200_vgag068-B7","first-page":"1","author":"European Commission","year":"2009"},{"key":"2026051711413082200_vgag068-B8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"27998","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-024-79766-5","article-title":"Collembola growth in heavy metal-contaminated soils","volume":"14","author":"Gruss","year":"2024","journal-title":"Scientific Reports"},{"key":"2026051711413082200_vgag068-B9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"109185","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ecolind.2022.109185","article-title":"Collembola reduce their body sizes under arsenic contamination in the soil: Possible use of new screening tool in ecotoxicology","volume":"142","author":"Gruss","year":"2022","journal-title":"Ecological Indicators"},{"key":"2026051711413082200_vgag068-B10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"38","DOI":"10.1186\/s43591-025-00145-6","article-title":"The toxicity of microplastics explorer (ToMEx) 2.0","volume":"5","author":"Hampton","year":"2025","journal-title":"Microplastics and Nanoplastics"},{"key":"2026051711413082200_vgag068-B11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/ICCV.2017.322","volume-title":"EEE International Conference on Computer Vision (ICCV).","author":"He","year":"2018"},{"key":"2026051711413082200_vgag068-B12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"15","DOI":"10.1016\/S0262-8856","article-title":"Circle recognition through a 2D Hough Transform and radius histogramming","volume":"17","author":"Ioannou","year":"1999","journal-title":"Image and Vision Computing"},{"key":"2026051711413082200_vgag068-B13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","author":"Khanam","year":"2024","DOI":"10.48550\/arXiv.2410.17725"},{"key":"2026051711413082200_vgag068-B14","author":"Krogh","year":"2008"},{"key":"2026051711413082200_vgag068-B15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"201","DOI":"10.1016\/S0929-1393","article-title":"Automatic counting of collembolans for laboratory experiments","volume":"7","author":"Krogh","year":"1998","journal-title":"Applied Soil Ecology"},{"key":"2026051711413082200_vgag068-B16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2029","DOI":"10.1002\/etc.4147","article-title":"Nanomaterials in the environment: Behavior, fate, bioavailability, and effects\u2014An updated review","volume":"37","author":"Lead","year":"2018","journal-title":"Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry"},{"key":"2026051711413082200_vgag068-B17","author":"Meyer","year":"2026"},{"key":"2026051711413082200_vgag068-B18","author":"Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)","year":"2016"},{"key":"2026051711413082200_vgag068-B19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1787\/9789264264496-en","volume-title":"Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Test No. 222: Earthworm Reproduction Test (Eisenia fetida\/Eisenia andrei)","author":"Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)","year":"2016"},{"key":"2026051711413082200_vgag068-B20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1787\/9789264264557-en","volume-title":"Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Test No. 226: Predatory mite (Hypoaspis (Geolaelaps) aculeifer) reproduction test in soil","author":"Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)","year":"2016"},{"key":"2026051711413082200_vgag068-B21","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"102606","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ecoinf.2024.102606","article-title":"Automatic identification of Collembola with deep learning techniques","volume":"81","author":"Oriol","year":"2024","journal-title":"Ecological Informatics"},{"key":"2026051711413082200_vgag068-B22","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e12850","DOI":"10.1016\/j.heliyon.2023.e12850","article-title":"Improved methods for quantifying soil invertebrates during ecotoxicological tests: Chill comas and anesthetics","volume":"9","author":"Pang","year":"2023","journal-title":"Heliyon"},{"key":"2026051711413082200_vgag068-B23","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"123603","DOI":"10.1007\/s11356-023-30835-8","article-title":"Automated software for counting and measuring Hyalella genus using artificial intelligence","volume":"30","author":"Pineda-Alarc\u00f3n","year":"2023","journal-title":"Environmental Science and Pollution Research International"},{"key":"2026051711413082200_vgag068-B24","author":"Posit team","year":"2025"},{"key":"2026051711413082200_vgag068-B25","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","author":"Redmon","year":"2016","DOI":"10.1109\/CVPR.2016.91"},{"key":"2026051711413082200_vgag068-B26","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e0146021","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0146021","article-title":"Dose-response analysis using R","volume":"10","author":"Ritz","year":"2015","journal-title":"PloS One"},{"key":"2026051711413082200_vgag068-B27","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"157","DOI":"10.1007\/s11263-007-0090-8","article-title":"LabelMe: A database and web-based tool for image annotation","volume":"77","author":"Russell","year":"2008","journal-title":"International Journal of Computer Vision"},{"key":"2026051711413082200_vgag068-B28","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"671","DOI":"10.1038\/nmeth.2089","article-title":"NIH Image to ImageJ: 25 years of image analysis","volume":"9","author":"Schneider","year":"2012","journal-title":"Nature Methods"},{"key":"2026051711413082200_vgag068-B29","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","author":"Svenning","year":"2025","DOI":"10.1101\/2025.04.08.647223"},{"key":"2026051711413082200_vgag068-B30","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2729","DOI":"10.1111\/2041-210X.14001","article-title":"CollembolAI, a macrophotography and computer vision workflow to digitize and characterize samples of soil invertebrate communities preserved in fluid","volume":"13","author":"Sys","year":"2022","journal-title":"Methods in Ecology and Evolution"},{"key":"2026051711413082200_vgag068-B31","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"524","DOI":"10.1093\/etojnl\/vgae048","article-title":"The influence of soil organic matter content on the toxicity of pesticides to the springtail Folsomia candida","volume":"44","author":"van Hall","year":"2025","journal-title":"Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry"},{"key":"2026051711413082200_vgag068-B32","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"117482","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ecoenv.2024.117482","article-title":"Automated quantification of Enchytraeus crypticus juveniles in different soil types using RootPainter","volume":"289","author":"van Hall","year":"2025","journal-title":"Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety"},{"key":"2026051711413082200_vgag068-B33","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"140493","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jhazmat.2025.140493","article-title":"Microplastics and PFAS as ubiquitous pollutants affect potencies of highly toxic chemicals in mixtures","volume":"500","author":"van Loon","year":"2025","journal-title":"Journal of Hazardous Materials"},{"key":"2026051711413082200_vgag068-B34","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","author":"Wang","year":"2021","DOI":"10.1109\/ICCVW54120.2021.00217"},{"key":"2026051711413082200_vgag068-B35","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2575","DOI":"10.1021\/acs.est.9b06379","article-title":"Toward a global understanding of chemical pollution: A first comprehensive analysis of national and regional chemical inventories","volume":"54","author":"Wang","year":"2020","journal-title":"Environmental Science & Technology"},{"key":"2026051711413082200_vgag068-B36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Wehrli M., Meyer A. F., Souza da Silva \u00c9., van Loon S., van Hall B., van Gestel K., Natal da Luz T., Max D., Feldhaar H., Mair M., Jordan D., Langer M. (2026). Toxicity data for: COLLEMBOT: AI-based counting of Collembola for OECD 232 Tests [Dataset]. Zenodo. 10.5281\/zenodo.17987887","DOI":"10.64898\/2026.01.16.697653"},{"key":"2026051711413082200_vgag068-B37","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e17542","DOI":"10.1111\/gcb.17542","article-title":"A dirt(y) world in a changing climate: Importance of heat stress in the risk assessment of pesticides for soil arthropods","volume":"30","author":"Wehrli","year":"2024","journal-title":"Global Change Biology"},{"key":"2026051711413082200_vgag068-B38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-319-24277-4","volume-title":"ggplot2: Elegant graphics for data analysis","author":"Wickham","year":"2016","edition":"2nd ed.)."},{"key":"2026051711413082200_vgag068-B39","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","author":"Xue","year":"2025","DOI":"10.2139\/ssrn.5460402"}],"container-title":["Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/etc\/advance-article-pdf\/doi\/10.1093\/etojnl\/vgag068\/67457371\/vgag068.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"am","intended-application":"syndication"},{"URL":"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/etc\/advance-article-pdf\/doi\/10.1093\/etojnl\/vgag068\/67457371\/vgag068.pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,17]],"date-time":"2026-05-17T15:41:43Z","timestamp":1779032503000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/etc\/advance-article\/doi\/10.1093\/etojnl\/vgag068\/8533382"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,21]]},"references-count":39,"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1093\/etojnl\/vgag068","relation":{},"ISSN":["0730-7268","1552-8618"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0730-7268","type":"print"},{"value":"1552-8618","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,21]]},"article-number":"vgag068"}}