Freshwater planarians are free-living flatworms known for their regenerative ability. Being easily cultured under laboratory conditions, they are recognized test model organisms in regeneration, developmental biology, and neuropharmacological research. Also, they have been recently employed in toxicity testing where they displayed an array of sensitive and reliable responses to environmental stressors. Here, we outline simple and easy-to-follow protocols to evaluate effects of environmental contaminants and other stressors on survival, behavior (feeding and locomotor activity), and regeneration of freshwater planarians. These endpoints are comparable with responses of well-established ecotoxicological model species.
Keywords: Behavior; Freshwater planarians; Lethal and sub lethal endpoints; Mortality; Regeneration.