STYGOTOX: A quality assessed database of (eco)toxicological data on stygofauna and other aquatic subterranean organisms

This data compiles the toxicity data on stygofauna and other aquatic subterranean organisms in one (eco)toxicological database. A total of 46 studies were found, containing 472 toxic endpoints covering 43 different stressors. These compounds were tested on subterranean organisms from four phyla, 12 orders, 24 genera, and 55 species. The studies included were published between 1976 and July of 2023, in 13 different countries. The suitability of the studies was assessed in order to indicate the completeness of reporting and their suitability for use in hazard and risk assessment. This compilation provides a valuable source of data for future development of toxicity testing protocols for groundwater organisms, and to support decision-making, ecological risk assessments and the derivation of water quality criteria for the protection of groundwater ecosystems. The database will be updated regularly.

The database was founded on literature searches using Google Scholar, Web of Science and Scopus, reference lists of the scientific/peer reviewed literature, as well as generic internet searches. An example of the search criteria used in Scopus can be seen below.

· “Stygofauna” OR “Stygo” OR “Hypogean” OR “Groundwater organism” OR “Groundwater invertebrate” OR “Stygobite”

o AND

· “Toxicity” OR “Ecotoxicity” OR “Dose-response” OR “Sensitivity”

Searches were conducted in English and identified several studies written in German and French that had English abstracts or keywords. Studies in languages other than English were translated using Google translate. The current database (version 2023.12) includes papers published prior to December 2023. The criteria for the inclusion of data from a study into the database was the availability of one of the following toxicity endpoints: Lethal concentration (LC), Effect concentration (EC), Inhibition concentration (IC), Lethal temperature (Ltemp), Effect temperature (Etemp), Lethal time (Ltime), Effect time (Etime), No observable effect concentration (NOEC), and Lowest observed effect concentration” (LOEC). Where available, the effect of the EC is mentioned.