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Wang T, Zhang P, Molinos JG, Xie J, Zhang H, Wang H, Xu X, Wang K, Feng M, Cheng H, Zhang M, Xu J. Interactions between climate warming, herbicides, and eutrophication in the aquatic food web. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2023; 345:118753. [PMID: 37625285 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.118753] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2023] [Revised: 07/16/2023] [Accepted: 08/09/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the interactive effects of multiple environmental stressors on biological communities is crucial for effective environmental management and biodiversity conservation. Here, we present the results of an outdoor mesocosm experiment examining how an aquatic food web responds to the individual and combined effects of climate warming, heat waves, nutrient enrichment, and herbicide exposure. To assess ecosystem functioning, we examined energy flow, using stable isotope analysis integrated with the bioenergetics food web approach to quantify energy fluxes among trophic levels. Our results revealed that the combined effects of these stressors altered the pattern of energy fluxes within the food web. Under warming conditions, there was an increase in energy flux from producers and primary consumers to secondary consumers. However, we did not observe a significant increase in energy flux in primary consumers, potentially due to enhanced top-down control. Nutrient enrichment increased energy flux from producers to higher trophic levels while simultaneously decreasing detrital energy flux. Herbicide exposure did not significantly affect herbivory energy flux but did reduce detritivory energy flux, particularly from detritus to primary consumers. The interactive effects we observed were primarily antagonistic or additive, although we also detected reversed and synergistic effects. The responses to multiple stressors varied across different energy flow pathways, leading to an asymmetric response. Furthermore, our results also revealed significant differences in the effects of constant warming and heat waves, either alone or in combination with water pollution. The asymmetric response of energy flow pathways and the prevalence of antagonistic effects present significant challenges for ecosystem restoration. Together, our findings provide novel and clear evidence of the complex mechanisms by which the coexistence of stressors can differently affect the pathways of energy flux across trophic levels in aquatic ecosystems. Regulatory strategies for ecosystems should comprehensively consider responses at multi-trophic levels using a network perspective, especially in the face of combinations of global and local stressors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tao Wang
- Donghu Experimental Station of Lake Ecosystems, State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology of China, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, PR China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, PR China.
| | - Peiyu Zhang
- Donghu Experimental Station of Lake Ecosystems, State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology of China, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, PR China.
| | | | - Jiayi Xie
- Donghu Experimental Station of Lake Ecosystems, State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology of China, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, PR China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, PR China.
| | - Huan Zhang
- Donghu Experimental Station of Lake Ecosystems, State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology of China, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, PR China.
| | - Huan Wang
- Donghu Experimental Station of Lake Ecosystems, State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology of China, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, PR China; State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea, Hainan University, Haikou, PR China.
| | - Xiaoqi Xu
- Donghu Experimental Station of Lake Ecosystems, State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology of China, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, PR China.
| | - Kang Wang
- Donghu Experimental Station of Lake Ecosystems, State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology of China, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, PR China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, PR China.
| | - Mingjun Feng
- College of Fisheries, Hubei Provincial Engineering Laboratory for Pond Aquaculture, Freshwater Aquaculture Collaborative Innovation Centre of Hubei Province, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, PR China.
| | - Haowu Cheng
- College of Fisheries, Hubei Provincial Engineering Laboratory for Pond Aquaculture, Freshwater Aquaculture Collaborative Innovation Centre of Hubei Province, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, PR China.
| | - Min Zhang
- College of Fisheries, Hubei Provincial Engineering Laboratory for Pond Aquaculture, Freshwater Aquaculture Collaborative Innovation Centre of Hubei Province, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, PR China.
| | - Jun Xu
- Donghu Experimental Station of Lake Ecosystems, State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology of China, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, PR China.
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Larras F, Charles S, Chaumot A, Pelosi C, Le Gall M, Mamy L, Beaudouin R. A critical review of effect modeling for ecological risk assessment of plant protection products. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2022; 29:43448-43500. [PMID: 35391640 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-022-19111-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2021] [Accepted: 02/03/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
A wide diversity of plant protection products (PPP) is used for crop protection leading to the contamination of soil, water, and air, which can have ecotoxicological impacts on living organisms. It is inconceivable to study the effects of each compound on each species from each compartment, experimental studies being time consuming and cost prohibitive, and animal testing having to be avoided. Therefore, numerous models are developed to assess PPP ecotoxicological effects. Our objective was to provide an overview of the modeling approaches enabling the assessment of PPP effects (including biopesticides) on the biota. Six categories of models were inventoried: (Q)SAR, DR and TKTD, population, multi-species, landscape, and mixture models. They were developed for various species (terrestrial and aquatic vertebrates and invertebrates, primary producers, micro-organisms) belonging to diverse environmental compartments, to address different goals (e.g., species sensitivity or PPP bioaccumulation assessment, ecosystem services protection). Among them, mechanistic models are increasingly recognized by EFSA for PPP regulatory risk assessment but, to date, remain not considered in notified guidance documents. The strengths and limits of the reviewed models are discussed together with improvement avenues (multigenerational effects, multiple biotic and abiotic stressors). This review also underlines a lack of model testing by means of field data and of sensitivity and uncertainty analyses. Accurate and robust modeling of PPP effects and other stressors on living organisms, from their application in the field to their functional consequences on the ecosystems at different scales of time and space, would help going toward a more sustainable management of the environment. Graphical Abstract Combination of the keyword lists composing the first bibliographic query. Columns were joined together with the logical operator AND. All keyword lists are available in Supplementary Information at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5775038 (Larras et al. 2021).
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Affiliation(s)
- Floriane Larras
- INRAE, Directorate for Collective Scientific Assessment, Foresight and Advanced Studies, Paris, 75338, France
| | - Sandrine Charles
- University of Lyon, University Lyon 1, CNRS UMR 5558, Laboratory of Biometry and Evolutionary Biology, Villeurbanne Cedex, 69622, France
| | - Arnaud Chaumot
- INRAE, UR RiverLy, Ecotoxicology laboratory, Villeurbanne, F-69625, France
| | - Céline Pelosi
- Avignon University, INRAE, UMR EMMAH, Avignon, 84000, France
| | - Morgane Le Gall
- Ifremer, Information Scientifique et Technique, Bibliothèque La Pérouse, Plouzané, 29280, France
| | - Laure Mamy
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, AgroParisTech, UMR ECOSYS, Thiverval-Grignon, 78850, France
| | - Rémy Beaudouin
- Ineris, Experimental Toxicology and Modelling Unit, UMR-I 02 SEBIO, Verneuil en Halatte, 65550, France.
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Perujo N, Van den Brink PJ, Segner H, Mantyka-Pringle C, Sabater S, Birk S, Bruder A, Romero F, Acuña V. A guideline to frame stressor effects in freshwater ecosystems. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2021; 777:146112. [PMID: 33689887 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.146112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2020] [Revised: 02/11/2021] [Accepted: 02/23/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Environmental policies fall short in protecting freshwater ecosystems, which are heavily threatened by human pressures and their associated stressors. One reason is that stressor effects depend on the context in which they occur and it is difficult to extrapolate patterns to predict the effect of stressors without these being contextualized in a general frame. This study aims at improving existing decision-making frameworks such as the DPSIR approach (Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response) or ERA (Environmental Risk Assessment) in the context of stressors. Here, we delve into stressor-impact relationships in freshwater ecosystems and develop a guideline which includes key characteristics such as stressor type, stressor duration, location, the natural levels of environmental variables to which each ecosystem is used to, among others. This guideline is intended to be useful in a wide range of ecosystem conditions and stressors. Incorporating these guidelines may favor the comparability of scientific results and may lead to a substantial advancement in the efficacy of diagnosis and predictive approaches of impacts.
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Affiliation(s)
- N Perujo
- Catalan Institute for Water Research (ICRA), Carrer Emili Grahit 101, 17003 Girona, Spain; University of Girona, Plaça de Sant Domènec 3, 17004 Girona, Spain.
| | - P J Van den Brink
- Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management Group, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA, the Netherlands; Wageningen Environmental Research, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA, the Netherlands
| | - H Segner
- Centre for Fish and Wildlife Health, University of Bern, P.O. Box, 3001, Bern, Switzerland
| | - C Mantyka-Pringle
- Wildlife Conservation Society Canada, Whitehorse, YT, Canada; School of Environment and Sustainability, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
| | - S Sabater
- Catalan Institute for Water Research (ICRA), Carrer Emili Grahit 101, 17003 Girona, Spain; Institut d'Ecologia Aquàtica (IEA), University of Girona, Campus de Montilivi, 17003 Girona, Spain
| | - S Birk
- University of Duisburg-Essen, Faculty of Biology, Aquatic Ecology, Universitätsstrasse 5, 45141 Essen, Germany; Centre for Water and Environmental Research, University of Duisburg-Essen, Universitätsstrasse 5, 45141 Essen, Germany
| | - A Bruder
- Laboratory of Applied Microbiology, University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland, Bellinzona, Switzerland
| | - F Romero
- Plant-Soil Interactions, Research Division Agroecology and Environment, Agroscope, Reckenholzstrasse 191, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - V Acuña
- Catalan Institute for Water Research (ICRA), Carrer Emili Grahit 101, 17003 Girona, Spain; University of Girona, Plaça de Sant Domènec 3, 17004 Girona, Spain
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Jiang R, Wang M, Chen W, Li X, Balseiro-Romero M, Baveye PC. Ecological risk of combined pollution on soil ecosystem functions: Insight from the functional sensitivity and stability. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2019; 255:113184. [PMID: 31541819 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2019.113184] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2019] [Revised: 08/23/2019] [Accepted: 09/04/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Assessing the ecological risk of combined pollution, especially from a holistic perspective with the consideration of the overarching functions of soil ecosystem, is crucial and beneficial to the improvement of ecological risk assessment (ERA) framework. In this study, four soils with similar physicochemical properties but contrasting heavy metals contamination levels were selected to explore changes in the integrated functional sensitivity (MSI), resistance (MRS) and resilience (MRL) of soil microbial communities subjected to herbicide siduron, based on which the ecological risk of the accumulation of siduron in the four studied soils were evaluated. The results suggested that the microbial biomass carbon, activity of denitrification enzyme and nitrogenase were indicative of MSI and MRS, and the same three parameters plus soil basal respiration were indicative of MRL. Significant dose-effect relationships between siduron residues in soils and MSI, MRS and MRL under combined pollution were observed. Heavy metal polluted soils showed higher sensitivity and lower resistance to the additional disturbance of herbicide siduron due to the lower microbial biomass, while the resilience of heavy metal polluted soils was much higher due to the pre-adaption to the chemical stresses. The quantifiable indicator microbial functional stability was incorporated in the framework of ERA and the results showed that the accumulation of siduron in the studied soils could exhibit potential harm to the integrated functional stability of soil microbial community. Thus, this work provides insights into the application of integrated function of soil microbial community into the framework of ERA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rong Jiang
- State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Centre for Eco-environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Meie Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Centre for Eco-environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China.
| | - Weiping Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Centre for Eco-environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China
| | - Xuzhi Li
- State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Centre for Eco-environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China; State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Soil Environmental Management and Pollution Control, Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Nanjing, 210042, China
| | - María Balseiro-Romero
- UMR ECOSYS, AgroParisTech, Université Paris-Saclay, Avenue Lucien Brétignières, Thiverval-Grignon, 78850, France; Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, 15782, Spain
| | - Philippe C Baveye
- UMR ECOSYS, AgroParisTech, Université Paris-Saclay, Avenue Lucien Brétignières, Thiverval-Grignon, 78850, France
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5
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Brock T, Bigler F, Frampton G, Hogstrand C, Luttik R, Martin-Laurent F, Topping CJ, van der Werf W, Rortais A. Ecological Recovery and Resilience in Environmental Risk Assessments at the European Food Safety Authority. INTEGRATED ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT 2018; 14:586-591. [PMID: 30489025 DOI: 10.1002/ieam.4079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2018] [Revised: 04/27/2018] [Accepted: 06/18/2018] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
A conceptual framework was developed by a working group of the Scientific Committee of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to guide risk assessors and risk managers on when and how to integrate ecological recovery and resilience assessments into environmental risk assessments (ERA). In this commentary we advocate that a systems approach is required to integrate the diversity of ecosystem services (ES) providing units, environmental factors, scales, and stressor-related responses necessary to address the context dependency of recovery and resilience in agricultural landscapes. A future challenge in the resilience assessment remains to identify the relevant bundles of ecosystem services provided by different types of agroecosystem that need to be assessed in concert. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2018;14:586-591. © 2018 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC).
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Affiliation(s)
- Theo Brock
- Working group on the overarching elements of environmental risk assessment (recovery) of the Scientific Committee of the European Food Safety Authority
- Wageningen Environmental Research, Wageningen University and Research, The Netherlands
| | - Franz Bigler
- Working group on the overarching elements of environmental risk assessment (recovery) of the Scientific Committee of the European Food Safety Authority
- Würenlos, Switzerland
| | - Geoff Frampton
- Working group on the overarching elements of environmental risk assessment (recovery) of the Scientific Committee of the European Food Safety Authority
- Southampton Health Technology Assessments Centre (SHTAC), Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, United Kingdom
| | - Christer Hogstrand
- Working group on the overarching elements of environmental risk assessment (recovery) of the Scientific Committee of the European Food Safety Authority
- Departments of Biochemistry and Nutritional Sciences, King's College London, United Kingdom
| | - Robert Luttik
- Working group on the overarching elements of environmental risk assessment (recovery) of the Scientific Committee of the European Food Safety Authority
- Independent Consultant, Hvidovre, Denmark
| | - Fabrice Martin-Laurent
- Working group on the overarching elements of environmental risk assessment (recovery) of the Scientific Committee of the European Food Safety Authority
- Agroécologie, AgroSup Dijon, INRA, University of Bourgogne Franche-Comté, France
| | - Christopher John Topping
- Working group on the overarching elements of environmental risk assessment (recovery) of the Scientific Committee of the European Food Safety Authority
- Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Denmark
| | - Wopke van der Werf
- Working group on the overarching elements of environmental risk assessment (recovery) of the Scientific Committee of the European Food Safety Authority
- Plant Sciences, Wageningen University, The Netherlands
| | - Agnes Rortais
- Working group on the overarching elements of environmental risk assessment (recovery) of the Scientific Committee of the European Food Safety Authority
- European Food Safety Authority, Parma, Italy
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6
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Ockleford C, Adriaanse P, Berny P, Brock T, Duquesne S, Grilli S, Hernandez-Jerez AF, Bennekou SH, Klein M, Kuhl T, Laskowski R, Machera K, Pelkonen O, Pieper S, Stemmer M, Sundh I, Teodorovic I, Tiktak A, Topping CJ, Wolterink G, Craig P, de Jong F, Manachini B, Sousa P, Swarowsky K, Auteri D, Arena M, Rob S. Scientific Opinion addressing the state of the science on risk assessment of plant protection products for in-soil organisms. EFSA J 2017; 15:e04690. [PMID: 32625401 PMCID: PMC7009882 DOI: 10.2903/j.efsa.2017.4690] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Following a request from EFSA, the Panel on Plant Protection Products and their Residues developed an opinion on the science behind the risk assessment of plant protection products for in-soil organisms. The current risk assessment scheme is reviewed, taking into account new regulatory frameworks and scientific developments. Proposals are made for specific protection goals for in-soil organisms being key drivers for relevant ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes such as nutrient cycling, soil structure, pest control and biodiversity. Considering the time-scales and biological processes related to the dispersal of the majority of in-soil organisms compared to terrestrial non-target arthropods living above soil, the Panel proposes that in-soil environmental risk assessments are made at in- and off-field scale considering field boundary levels. A new testing strategy which takes into account the relevant exposure routes for in-soil organisms and the potential direct and indirect effects is proposed. In order to address species recovery and long-term impacts of PPPs, the use of population models is also proposed.
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Rico A, Van den Brink PJ, Gylstra R, Focks A, Brock TC. Developing ecological scenarios for the prospective aquatic risk assessment of pesticides. INTEGRATED ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT 2016; 12:510-21. [PMID: 26437690 DOI: 10.1002/ieam.1718] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2015] [Revised: 08/04/2015] [Accepted: 09/29/2015] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
The prospective aquatic environmental risk assessment (ERA) of pesticides is generally based on the comparison of predicted environmental concentrations in edge-of-field surface waters with regulatory acceptable concentrations derived from laboratory and/or model ecosystem experiments with aquatic organisms. New improvements in mechanistic effect modeling have allowed a better characterization of the ecological risks of pesticides through the incorporation of biological trait information and landscape parameters to assess individual, population and/or community-level effects and recovery. Similarly to exposure models, ecological models require scenarios that describe the environmental context in which they are applied. In this article, we propose a conceptual framework for the development of ecological scenarios that, when merged with exposure scenarios, will constitute environmental scenarios for prospective aquatic ERA. These "unified" environmental scenarios are defined as the combination of the biotic and abiotic parameters that are required to characterize exposure, (direct and indirect) effects, and recovery of aquatic nontarget species under realistic worst-case conditions. Ideally, environmental scenarios aim to avoid a potential mismatch between the parameter values and the spatial-temporal scales currently used in aquatic exposure and effect modeling. This requires a deeper understanding of the ecological entities we intend to protect, which can be preliminarily addressed by the formulation of ecological scenarios. In this article we present a methodological approach for the development of ecological scenarios and illustrate this approach by a case-study for Dutch agricultural ditches and the example focal species Sialis lutaria. Finally, we discuss the applicability of ecological scenarios in ERA and propose research needs and recommendations for their development and integration with exposure scenarios. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2016;12:510-521. © 2015 SETAC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreu Rico
- Alterra, Wageningen University and Research Centre, Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Paul J Van den Brink
- Alterra, Wageningen University and Research Centre, Wageningen, the Netherlands
- Department of Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management, Wageningen University and Research Centre, Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | | | - Andreas Focks
- Alterra, Wageningen University and Research Centre, Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Theo Cm Brock
- Alterra, Wageningen University and Research Centre, Wageningen, the Netherlands
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9
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Luong AD, Schaubroeck T, Dewulf J, De Laender F. Re-evaluating Primary Biotic Resource Use for Marine Biomass Production: A New Calculation Framework. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2015; 49:11586-11593. [PMID: 26348118 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.5b02515] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
The environmental impacts of biomass harvesting can be quantified through the amount of net primary production required to produce one unit of harvested biomass (SPPR-specific primary production required). This paper presents a new calculation framework that explicitly takes into account full food web complexity and shows that the resulting SPPR for toothed whales in the Icelandic marine ecosystem is 2.8 times higher than the existing approach based on food web simplification. In addition, we show that our new framework can be coupled to food web modeling to examine how uncertainty on ecological data and processes can be accounted for while estimating SPPR. This approach reveals that an increase in the degree of heterotrophy by flagellates from 0% to 100% results in a two-fold increase in SPPR estimates in the Barents Sea. It also shows that the estimated SPPR is between 3.9 (herring) and 5.0 (capelin) times higher than that estimated when adopting food chain theory. SPPR resulting from our new approach is only valid for the given time period for which the food web is modeled and cannot be used to infer changes in SPPR when the food web is altered by changes in human exploitation or environmental changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anh D Luong
- Department of Sustainable Organic Chemistry and Technology, Research Group EnVOC, Ghent University , Coupure Links 653, Ghent B-9000, Belgium
- Department of Environmental Management, Faculty of Environment, Vietnam National University of Agriculture , Hanoi 10000, Vietnam
| | - Thomas Schaubroeck
- Department of Sustainable Organic Chemistry and Technology, Research Group EnVOC, Ghent University , Coupure Links 653, Ghent B-9000, Belgium
| | - Jo Dewulf
- Department of Sustainable Organic Chemistry and Technology, Research Group EnVOC, Ghent University , Coupure Links 653, Ghent B-9000, Belgium
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Institute for Environment and Sustainability, Sustainability Assessment Unit , Via E. Fermi 2749, I-21027 Ispra, Varese, Italy
| | - Frederik De Laender
- Research Unit in Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, Université de Namur , Rue de Bruxelles, 61, Namur 5000, Belgium
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De Laender F, van den Brink PJ, Janssen CR, Di Guardo A. The ChimERA project: coupling mechanistic exposure and effect models into an integrated platform for ecological risk assessment. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2014; 21:6263-6267. [PMID: 24532207 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-014-2605-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2014] [Accepted: 01/26/2014] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Current techniques for the ecological risk assessment of chemical substances are often criticised for their lack of environmental realism, ecological relevance and methodological accuracy. ChimERA is a 3-year project (2013-2016), funded by Cefic's Long Range Initiative (LRI) that aims to address some of these concerns by developing and testing mechanistic fate and effect models, and coupling of these models into one integrated platform for risk assessment. This paper discusses the backdrop against which this project was initiated and lists its objectives and planned methodology.
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Affiliation(s)
- F De Laender
- GhenToxLab, Ghent University, 9000, Ghent, Belgium,
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11
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Brock TCM. Priorities to improve the ecological risk assessment and management for pesticides in surface water. INTEGRATED ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT 2013; 9:e64-e74. [PMID: 23610040 DOI: 10.1002/ieam.1429] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2013] [Revised: 03/15/2013] [Accepted: 04/17/2013] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
This article deals with prospective and retrospective ecological risk assessment (ERA) procedures for pesticides in surface waters as carried out under European legislation (Regulation 1107/2009/EC; Directive 2009/128/EC; Directive 2000/60/EC). Priorities to improve the aquatic risk assessment and management of pesticides are discussed on basis of the following 5 theses: 1) the management of the environmental risks of pesticides in surface water requires an appropriate implementation of feedback mechanisms between prospective and retrospective ERA, 2) an appropriate ERA cannot be carried out without well-defined specific protection goals, described in terms of focal vulnerable populations and related exposure assessment goals, 3) the interaction between the assessment of exposure and eco(toxico)logical effects in ERA is at a lower level of sophistication than either assessment of exposure or assessment of effects in the field, 4) there is insufficient experimental proof that, in prospective ERA, the chronic effect assessment procedures accurately predict long-term population- and community-level impacts, and 5) multiple stress by pesticides in aquatic ecosystems cannot be ignored in ERA, but in individual water bodies, toxicity usually is dominated by a limited number of substances.
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Affiliation(s)
- Theo C M Brock
- Alterra, Wageningen University and Research Centre, The Netherlands.
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De Laender F, Janssen CR. Brief communication: the ecosystem perspective in ecotoxicology as a way forward for the ecological risk assessment of chemicals. INTEGRATED ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT 2013; 9:e34-e38. [PMID: 23610029 DOI: 10.1002/ieam.1428] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2013] [Revised: 04/02/2013] [Accepted: 04/17/2013] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
One of the objectives of the European Union (EU) ecological risk assessment of chemicals (ERA) is to derive maximum environmental concentrations that are not expected to cause adverse ecological effects. To this end, related EU directives list protection goals as well as guidelines that should be used to reach these goals. It is generally accepted that the individual-level endpoints on which these guidelines are based do not correspond to the listed population- and ecosystem-level protection goals. In this article, we identify 5 research topics that are key to bridging this gap: 1) the refinement of population-level effects and recovery rates by explicitly taking into account competition and 2) predation, 3) the assessment of chemical effects on biodiversity, 4) the assessment of chemical stress on ecosystem functions and services, and 5) the quantification of the effects of chemical mixtures. In addition, we illustrate why an ecosystem perspective is needed to address these topics and to inform the risk assessment process. We propose the use of existing ecotoxicological community, food web, and ecosystem models to tackle these issues and discuss why new models are needed to predict chemical effects on biodiversity.
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13
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Van den Brink PJ, Baird DJ, Baveco HJM, Focks A. The use of traits-based approaches and eco(toxico)logical models to advance the ecological risk assessment framework for chemicals. INTEGRATED ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT 2013; 9:e47-e57. [PMID: 23625553 DOI: 10.1002/ieam.1443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2013] [Revised: 03/15/2013] [Accepted: 04/22/2013] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
This article presents a framework to diagnose and predict the effects of chemicals, integrating 2 promising tools to incorporate more ecology into ecological risk assessment, namely traits-based approaches and ecological modeling. Traits-based approaches are used increasingly to derive correlations between the occurrence of species traits and chemical exposure from biological and chemical monitoring data. This assessment can also be used in a diagnostic way, i.e., to identify the chemicals probably posing the highest risks to the aquatic ecosystems. The article also describes how ecological models can be used to explore how traits govern the species-substance interactions and to predict effects at the individual, population, and community and ecosystem level, i.e., from the receptor to the landscape level. This can be done by developing models describing the toxicokinetics and toxicodynamics of the chemical in the individual, the life-history of species and the connectivity of populations, determining their recovery, and the food web relations at the community and ecosystem level that determine the indirect effects. Special attention is given on how spatial aspects can be included in the ecological risk assessments using ecological models. The components of the framework are introduced and critically discussed. We describe how the different tools and data generated through experimentation (laboratory and semifield) and biomonitoring can be integrated. The article uses examples from the aquatic compartment, but the concepts that are used, and their integration within the framework, can be generalized to other environmental compartments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul J Van den Brink
- Alterra, Wageningen University and Research Centre, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
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Viaene KPJ, De Laender F, Van den Brink PJ, Janssen CR. Using additive modelling to quantify the effect of chemicals on phytoplankton diversity and biomass. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2013; 449:71-80. [PMID: 23416202 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2013.01.046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2012] [Revised: 12/19/2012] [Accepted: 01/11/2013] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
Environmental authorities require the protection of biodiversity and other ecosystem properties such as biomass production. However, the endpoints listed in available ecotoxicological datasets generally do not contain these two ecosystem descriptors. Inferring the effects of chemicals on such descriptors from micro- or mesocosm experiments is often hampered by inherent differences in the initial biodiversity levels between experimental units or by delayed community responses. Here we introduce additive modelling to establish the effects of a chronic application of the herbicide linuron on 10 biodiversity indices and phytoplankton biomass in microcosms. We found that communities with a low (high) initial biodiversity subsequently became more (less) diverse, indicating an equilibrium biodiversity status in the communities considered here. Linuron adversely affected richness and evenness while dominance increased but no biodiversity indices were different from the control treatment at linuron concentrations below 2.4 μg/L. Richness-related indices changed at lower linuron concentrations (effects noticeable from 2.4 μg/L) than other biodiversity indices (effects noticeable from 14.4 μg/L) and, in contrast to the other indices, showed no signs of recovery following chronic exposure. Phytoplankton biomass was unaffected by linuron due to functional redundancy within the phytoplankton community. Comparing thresholds for biodiversity with conventional toxicity test results showed that standard ecological risk assessments also protect biodiversity in the case of linuron.
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Affiliation(s)
- K P J Viaene
- Laboratory of Environmental Toxicity and Aquatic Ecology, Ghent University, Plateaustraat 22, 9000 Ghent, Belgium.
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De Laender F, Taub FB, Janssen CR. Ecosystem functions and densities of contributing functional groups respond in a different way to chemical stress. ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY AND CHEMISTRY 2011; 30:2892-2898. [PMID: 21953549 DOI: 10.1002/etc.698] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2011] [Revised: 07/22/2011] [Accepted: 09/15/2011] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Understanding whether and to what extent ecosystem functions respond to chemicals is a major challenge in environmental toxicology. The available data gathered by ecosystem-level experiments (micro- and mesocosms) often describe the responses of taxa densities to stress. However, whether these responses are proportional to the responses of associated ecosystem functions to stress is unclear. By combining a carbon budget modeling technique with data from a standardized microcosm experiment with a known community composition, we quantified three ecosystem functions (net primary production [NPP], net mesozooplankton production [NZP], and net bacterial production [NBP]) at three Cu concentrations, with a control. Changes of these ecosystem functions with increasing chemical concentrations were not always proportional to the Cu effects on the densities of the contributing functional groups. For example, Cu treatments decreased mesozooplankton density by 100-fold and increased phytoplankton density 10- to 100-fold while increasing NZP and leaving NPP unaltered. However, in contrast, Cu affected microzooplankton and the associated function (NBP) in a comparable way. We illustrate that differences in the response of phytoplankton/mesozooplankton densities and the associated ecosystem functions to stress occur because functional rates (e.g., photosynthesis rates/ingestion rates) vary among Cu treatments and in time. These variations could be explained by food web ecology but not by direct Cu effects, indicating that ecology may be a useful basis for understanding environmental effects of stressors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frederik De Laender
- Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology and Aquatic Ecology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
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