Aspetti biologici ed ecologici dei collemboli nella fauna del suolo

Collembola are among the most abundant hexapod of the soil mesofauna; some aspects of their biology are discussed, such as the role they play in the soil communities and their possible use as bioindicators of soil quality and land use. Karyology and sex determination mechanisms and the presence of polytene chromosomes in some specie are also reconsidered and discussed in the light of their evolutionary significance. The reproductive biology with regard to the morphology and ultrastructure of the spermatophores and spermatozoa were deeply investigated in the last few years; peculiarities regarding the winding process of the springtail spermatozoa, the extracellular cavity and of the extra-acrosomal appendix are discussed and functionally correlated to each other.