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Sigmund G, Ågerstrand M, Antonelli A, Backhaus T, Brodin T, Diamond ML, Erdelen WR, Evers DC, Hofmann T, Hueffer T, Lai A, Torres JPM, Mueller L, Perrigo AL, Rillig MC, Schaeffer A, Scheringer M, Schirmer K, Tlili A, Soehl A, Triebskorn R, Vlahos P, Vom Berg C, Wang Z, Groh KJ. Addressing chemical pollution in biodiversity research. Glob Chang Biol 2023; 29:3240-3255. [PMID: 36943240 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.16689] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2023] [Accepted: 03/12/2023] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
Climate change, biodiversity loss, and chemical pollution are planetary-scale emergencies requiring urgent mitigation actions. As these "triple crises" are deeply interlinked, they need to be tackled in an integrative manner. However, while climate change and biodiversity are often studied together, chemical pollution as a global change factor contributing to worldwide biodiversity loss has received much less attention in biodiversity research so far. Here, we review evidence showing that the multifaceted effects of anthropogenic chemicals in the environment are posing a growing threat to biodiversity and ecosystems. Therefore, failure to account for pollution effects may significantly undermine the success of biodiversity protection efforts. We argue that progress in understanding and counteracting the negative impact of chemical pollution on biodiversity requires collective efforts of scientists from different disciplines, including but not limited to ecology, ecotoxicology, and environmental chemistry. Importantly, recent developments in these fields have now enabled comprehensive studies that could efficiently address the manifold interactions between chemicals and ecosystems. Based on their experience with intricate studies of biodiversity, ecologists are well equipped to embrace the additional challenge of chemical complexity through interdisciplinary collaborations. This offers a unique opportunity to jointly advance a seminal frontier in pollution ecology and facilitate the development of innovative solutions for environmental protection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriel Sigmund
- Department of Environmental Geosciences, Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science, University of Vienna, Vienna, 1090, Austria
| | - Marlene Ågerstrand
- Department of Environmental Science, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Alexandre Antonelli
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 3AE, UK
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, 40530, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Department of Biology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, OX1 3RB, Oxford, UK
- Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre, 40530, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Thomas Backhaus
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, 40530, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Tomas Brodin
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 90187, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Miriam L Diamond
- Department of Earth Sciences and School of the Environment, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 3B1, Canada
| | | | - David C Evers
- Biodiversity Research Institute, Portland, Maine, 04103, USA
| | - Thilo Hofmann
- Department of Environmental Geosciences, Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science, University of Vienna, Vienna, 1090, Austria
| | - Thorsten Hueffer
- Department of Environmental Geosciences, Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science, University of Vienna, Vienna, 1090, Austria
| | - Adelene Lai
- Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB), University of Luxembourg, 6 avenue du Swing, 4367, Belvaux, Luxembourg
- Institute for Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, Friedrich-Schiller University, Lessing Strasse 8, 07743, Jena, Germany
| | - Joao P M Torres
- Laboratório de Micropoluentes Jan Japenga, Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Leonie Mueller
- Institute for Environmental Research, RWTH Aachen University, 52074, Aachen, Germany
| | - Allison L Perrigo
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, 40530, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre, 40530, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Lund University Botanical Garden, Lund, Sweden
| | - Matthias C Rillig
- Freie Universität Berlin, Institut für Biologie, Altensteinstr. 6, 14195, Berlin, Germany
- Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB), 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - Andreas Schaeffer
- Institute for Environmental Research, RWTH Aachen University, 52074, Aachen, Germany
- School of the Environment, State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, 210023, Nanjing, China
- Key Laboratory of the Three Gorges Reservoir Region's Eco-Environment, Chongqing University, 400045, Chongqing, China
| | - Martin Scheringer
- RECETOX, Masaryk University, 62500, Brno, Czech Republic
- ETH Zürich, Institute of Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics, 8092, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Kristin Schirmer
- ETH Zürich, Institute of Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics, 8092, Zürich, Switzerland
- Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 8600, Dübendorf, Switzerland
- School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering, EPF Lausanne, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Ahmed Tlili
- Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 8600, Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Anna Soehl
- International Panel on Chemical Pollution, 8092, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Rita Triebskorn
- Animal Physiological Ecology, University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 5, D-72076, Tübingen, Germany
- Transfer Center Ecotoxicology and Ecophysiology, Blumenstr. 13, D-72108, Rottenburg, Germany
| | - Penny Vlahos
- Department of Marine Sciences, University of Connecticut, Groton, Connecticut, USA
| | - Colette Vom Berg
- Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 8600, Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Zhanyun Wang
- Empa - Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Technology and Society Laboratory, CH-9014, St. Gallen, Switzerland
| | - Ksenia J Groh
- Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 8600, Dübendorf, Switzerland
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