Paul J. Van den Brink

Insecticide species sensitivity distributions: Importance of test species selection and relevance to aquatic ecosystems

Single-species acute toxicity data and (micro)mesocosm data were collated for 16 insecticides. These data were used to investigate the importance of test-species selection in constructing species sensitivity distributions (SSDs) and the ability of estimated hazardous concentrations (HCs) to protect freshwater aquatic ecosystems. A log-normal model was fitted to a minimum of six data points, and the resulting distribution was used to estimate lower (95% confidence), median (50% confidence), and upper (5% confidence) 5% HC (HC5) values. Species sensitivity distributions for specific taxonomic groups (vertebrates, arthropods, nonarthropod invertebrates), habitats (saltwater, freshwater, lentic, lotic), and geographical regions (Palaearctic, Nearctic, temperate, tropical) were compared. The taxonomic composition of the species assemblage used to construct the SSD does have a significant influence on the assessment of hazard, but the habitat and geographical distribution of the species do not. Moreover, SSDs constructed using species recommended in test guidelines did not differ significantly from those constructed using nonrecommended species. Hazardous concentrations estimated using laboratory-derived acute toxicity data for freshwater arthropods (i.e., the most sensitive taxonomic group) were compared to the response of freshwater ecosystems exposed to insecticides. The sensitivity distributions of freshwater arthropods were similar for both field and laboratory exposure, and the lower HC5 (95% protection with 95% confidence) estimate was protective of adverse ecological effects in freshwater ecosystems. The corresponding median HC5 (95% protection level with 50% confidence) was generally protective of single applications of insecticide but not of continuous or multiple applications. In the latter cases, a safety factor of at least five should be applied to the median HC5.

Multivariate analysis of stress in experimental ecosystems by Principal Response Curves and similarity analysis

Experiments in microcosms and mesocosms, which can be carried out in an advanced tier of risk assessment, usually result in large data sets on the dynamics of biological communities of treated and control cosms. Multivariate techniques are an accepted tool to evaluate the community treatment effects resulting from these complex experiments. In this paper two methods of multivariate analysis are discussed on their merits: 1) the canonical ordination technique Principal Response Curves (PRC) and 2) the similarity indices of Bray-Curtis and Stander. For this, the data sets of a microcosm experiment were used to simultaneously study the impact of nutrient loading and insecticide application.Both similarity indices display, in a single graph, the total effect size against time and do not allow a direct interpretation down to the taxon level. In the PRC method, the principal components of the treatment effects are plotted against time. Since the species of the example data sets, react in qualitatively different ways to the treatments, more than one PRC is needed for a proper description of the treatment effects. The first PRC of one of the data sets describes the effects due to the chlorpyrifos addition, the second one the effects as a result of the nutrient loading. The resulting principal response curves jointly summarize the essential features of the response curves of the individual taxa. This paper goes beyond the first PRC to visualize the effects of chemicals at the community level. In both multivariate analysis methods the statistical significance of the effects can be assessed by Monte Carlo permutation testing.Experiments in microcosms and mesocosms, which can be carried out in an advanced tier of risk assessment, usually result in large data sets on the dynamics of biological communities of treated and control cosms. Multivariate techniques are an accepted tool to evaluate the community treatment effects resulting from these complex experiments. In this paper two methods of multivariate analysis are discussed on their merits: 1) the canonical ordination technique Principal Response Curves (PRC) and 2) the similarity indices of Bray-Curtis and Stander. For this, the data sets of a microcosm experiment were used to simultaneously study the impact of nutrient loading and insecticide application. Both similarity indices display, in a single graph, the total effect size against time and do not allow a direct interpretation down to the taxon level. In the PRC method, the principal components of the treatment effects are plotted against time. Since the species of the example data sets, react in qualitatively different ways to the treatments, more than one PRC is needed for a proper description of the treatment effects. The first PRC of one of the data sets describes the effects due to the chlorpyrifos addition, the second one the effects as a result of the nutrient loading. The resulting principal response curves jointly summarize the essential features of the response curves of the individual taxa. This paper goes beyond the first PRC to visualize the effects of chemicals at the community level. In both multivariate analysis methods the statistical significance of the effects can be assessed by Monte Carlo permutation testing.

Combined and interactive effects of global climate change and toxicants on populations and communities

Increased temperature and other environmental effects of global climate change (GCC) have documented impacts on many species (e.g., polar bears, amphibians, coral reefs) as well as on ecosystem processes and species interactions (e.g., the timing of predator–prey interactions). A challenge for ecotoxicologists is to predict how joint effects of climatic stress and toxicants measured at the individual level (e.g., reduced survival and reproduction) will be manifested at the population level (e.g., population growth rate, extinction risk) and community level (e.g., species richness, food-web structure). The authors discuss how population- and community-level responses to toxicants under GCC are likely to be influenced by various ecological mechanisms. Stress due to GCC may reduce the potential for resistance to and recovery from toxicant exposure. Long-term toxicant exposure can result in acquired tolerance to this stressor at the population or community level, but an associated cost of tolerance may be the reduced potential for tolerance to subsequent climatic stress (or vice versa). Moreover, GCC can induce large-scale shifts in community composition, which may affect the vulnerability of communities to other stressors. Ecological modeling based on species traits (representing life-history traits, population vulnerability, sensitivity to toxicants, and sensitivity to climate change) can be a promising approach for predicting combined impacts of GCC and toxicants on populations and communities. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 2013;32:49–61.

Effects of pesticides on soil invertebrates in laboratory studies: A review and analysis using species sensitivity distributions

Species sensitivity distributions (SSD) and 5% hazardous concentrations (HC5) are distribution-based approaches for assessing environmental risks of pollutants. These methods have potential for application in pesticide risk assessments, but their applicability for assessing pesticide risks to soil invertebrate communities has not been evaluated. Using data obtained in a systematic review, the present study investigates the relevance of SSD and HC5 for predicting pesticide risks to soil invertebrates. Altogether, 1950 laboratory toxicity data were obtained, representing 250 pesticides and 67 invertebrate taxa. The majority (96%) of pesticides have toxicity data for fewer than five species. Based on a minimum of five species, the best available endpoint data (acute mortality median lethal concentration) enabled SSD and HC5 to be calculated for 11 pesticides (atrazine, carbendazim, chlorpyrifos, copper compounds, diazinon, dimethoate, gamma-hexachlorocyclohexane, lambda-cyhalothrin, parathion, pentachlorophenol, and propoxur). Arthropods and oligochaetes exhibit pronounced differences in their sensitivity to most of these pesticides. The standard test earthworm species, Eisenia fetida sensu lato, is the species that is least sensitive to insecticides based on acute mortality, whereas the standard Collembola test species, Folsomia candida, is among the most sensitive species for a broad range of toxic modes of action (biocide, fungicide, herbicide, and insecticide). These findings suggest that soil arthropods should be tested routinely in regulatory risk assessments. In addition, the data indicate that the uncertainty factor for earthworm acute mortality tests (i.e., 10) does not fully cover the range of earthworm species sensitivities and that acute mortality tests would not provide the most sensitive risk estimate for earthworms in the majority (95%) of cases.

Implications of differences between temperate and tropical freshwater ecosystems for the ecological risk assessment of pesticides

Despite considerable increased pesticide use over the past decades, little research has been done into their fate and effects in surface waters in tropical regions. In the present review, possible differences in response between temperate and tropical freshwaters to pesticide stress are discussed. Three underlying mechanisms for these differences are distinguished: (1) climate related parameters, (2) ecosystem sensitivity, and (3) agricultural practices. Pesticide dissipation rates and vulnerability of freshwaters appear not to be consistently higher or lower in tropical regions compared to their temperate counterparts. However, differences in fate and effects may occur for individual pesticides and taxa. Furthermore, intensive agricultural practices in tropical countries lead to a higher input of pesticides and spread of contamination over watersheds. Field studies in tropical farms on pesticide fate in the enclosed and surrounding waterways are recommended, which should ultimately lead to the development of surface water scenarios for tropical countries like developed by the Forum for the co-ordination of pesticide fate models and their use for temperate regions. Future tropical effect assessment studies should evaluate whether specific tropical taxa, not represented by the current standard test species in use, are at risk. If so, tropical model ecosystem studies evaluating pesticide concentration ranges need to be conducted to validate whether selected surrogate indigenous test species are representative for local tropical freshwater ecosystems.

Ordination techniques for analysing response of biological communities to toxic stress in experimental ecosystems

The ordination techniques principal component analysis (PCA) and redundancy analysis (RDA) are considered to be useful tools for evaluating community responses in experimental ecotoxicology. Concepts and interpretation of these techniques are summarized. Application of PCA and RDA is illustrated in a case study. In this study, the effects of a single application of the insecticide Dursban® 4E (a.i. chlorpyrifos) on an aquatic macroinvertebrate community in microcosms were analysed. Four treatment (nominal chlorpyrifos concentration: 35 μg l-1) and four control microcosms were used. PCA visualized a change in species composition with time. Immediately after treatment, a major shift in species composition occurred in treated microcosms. RDA demonstrated that this shift was due to the treatment. RDA also showed that non-arthropods were generally insusceptible to chlorpyrifos; most arthropods were affected. Dynamics of separate taxa were visualized, giving indications of possible primary and secondary effects for these taxa. A Monte Carlo permutation test was used to decide whether treatment had a significant effect on the species composition and to investigate the state of recovery in time. In general, the RDA results gave an adequate condensation of detailed information on abundance and effects obtained by more conventional univariate statistical analysis for some individual taxa of the community. In combination with toxicity and ecological data, ordination techniques can provide insight into effects of toxic substances in complex biological communities.

Potential application of population models in the European ecological risk assessment of chemicals. II. Review of models and their potential to address environmental protection aims.

Whereas current chemical risk assessment (RA) schemes within the European Union (EU) focus mainly on toxicity and bioaccumulation of chemicals in individual organisms, most protection goals aim at preserving populations of nontarget organisms rather than individuals. Ecological models are tools rarely recommended in official technical documents on RA of chemicals, but are widely used by researchers to assess risks to populations, communities and ecosystems. Their great advantage is the relatively straightforward integration of the sensitivity of species to chemicals, the mode of action and fate in the environment of toxicants, life-history traits of the species of concern, and landscape features. To promote the usage of ecological models in regulatory risk assessment, this study tries to establish whether existing, published ecological modeling studies have addressed or have the potential to address the protection aims and requirements of the chemical directives of the EU. We reviewed 148 publications, and evaluated and analyzed them in a database according to defined criteria. Published models were also classified in terms of 5 areas where their application would be most useful for chemical RA. All potential application areas are well represented in the published literature. Most models were developed to estimate population-level responses on the basis of individual effects, followed by recovery process assessment, both in individuals and at the level of metapopulations. We provide case studies for each of the proposed areas of ecological model application. The lack of clarity about protection goals in legislative documents made it impossible to establish a direct link between modeling studies and protection goals. Because most of the models reviewed here were not developed for regulatory risk assessment, there is great potential and a variety of ecological models in the published literature.

Ecological models in support of regulatory risk assessments of pesticides: developing a strategy for the future.

Abstract This brief communication reports on the main findings of the LEMTOX workshop, held from 9 to 12 September 2007, at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) in Leipzig, Germany. The workshop brought together a diverse group of stakeholders from academia, regulatory authorities, contract research organizations, and industry, representing Europe, the United States, and Asia, to discuss the role of ecological modeling in risk assessments of pesticides, particularly under the European regulatory framework. The following questions were addressed: What are the potential benefits of using ecological models in pesticide registration and risk assessment? What obstacles prevent ecological modeling from being used routinely in regulatory submissions? What actions are needed to overcome the identified obstacles? What recommendations should be made to ensure good modeling practice in this context? The workshop focused exclusively on population models, and discussion was focused on those categories of population models that link effects on individuals (e.g., survival, growth, reproduction, behavior) to effects on population dynamics. The workshop participants concluded that the overall benefits of ecological modeling are that it could bring more ecology into ecological risk assessment, and it could provide an excellent tool for exploring the importance of, and interactions among, ecological complexities. However, there are a number of challenges that need to be overcome before such models will receive wide acceptance for pesticide risk assessment, despite having been used extensively in other contexts (e.g., conservation biology). The need for guidance on Good Modeling Practice (on model development, analysis, interpretation, evaluation, documentation, and communication), as well as the need for case studies that can be used to explore the added value of ecological models for risk assessment, were identified as top priorities. Assessing recovery potential of exposed nontarget species and clarifying the ecological relevance of standard laboratory test results are two areas for which ecological modeling may be able to provide considerable benefits.

Future water quality monitoring - Adapting tools to deal with mixtures of pollutants in water resource management

Environmental quality monitoring of water resources is challenged with providing the basis for safeguarding the environment against adverse biological effects of anthropogenic chemical contamination from diffuse and point sources. While current regulatory efforts focus on monitoring and assessing a few legacy chemicals, many more anthropogenic chemicals can be detected simultaneously in our aquatic resources. However, exposure to chemical mixtures does not necessarily translate into adverse biological effects nor clearly shows whether mitigation measures are needed. Thus, the question which mixtures are present and which have associated combined effects becomes central for defining adequate monitoring and assessment strategies. Here we describe the vision of the international, EU-funded project SOLUTIONS, where three routes are explored to link the occurrence of chemical mixtures at specific sites to the assessment of adverse biological combination effects. First of all, multi-residue target and non-target screening techniques covering a broader range of anticipated chemicals co-occurring in the environment are being developed. By improving sensitivity and detection limits for known bioactive compounds of concern, new analytical chemistry data for multiple components can be obtained and used to characterise priority mixtures. This information on chemical occurrence will be used to predict mixture toxicity and to derive combined effect estimates suitable for advancing environmental quality standards. Secondly, bioanalytical tools will be explored to provide aggregate bioactivity measures integrating all components that produce common (adverse) outcomes even for mixtures of varying compositions. The ambition is to provide comprehensive arrays of effect-based tools and trait-based field observations that link multiple chemical exposures to various environmental protection goals more directly and to provide improved in situ observations for impact assessment of mixtures. Thirdly, effect-directed analysis (EDA) will be applied to identify major drivers of mixture toxicity. Refinements of EDA include the use of statistical approaches with monitoring information for guidance of experimental EDA studies. These three approaches will be explored using case studies at the Danube and Rhine river basins as well as rivers of the Iberian Peninsula. The synthesis of findings will be organised to provide guidance for future solution-oriented environmental monitoring and explore more systematic ways to assess mixture exposures and combination effects in future water quality monitoring.

The SOLUTIONS project: Challenges and responses for present and future emerging pollutants in land and water resources management

SOLUTIONS (2013 to 2018) is a European Union Seventh Framework Programme Project (EU-FP7). The project aims to deliver a conceptual framework to support the evidence-based development of environmental policies with regard to water quality. SOLUTIONS will develop the tools for the identification, prioritisation and assessment of those water contaminants that may pose a risk to ecosystems and human health. To this end, a new generation of chemical and effect-based monitoring tools is developed and integrated with a full set of exposure, effect and risk assessment models. SOLUTIONS attempts to address legacy, present and future contamination by integrating monitoring and modelling based approaches with scenarios on future developments in society, economy and technology and thus in contamination. The project follows a solutions-oriented approach by addressing major problems of water and chemicals management and by assessing abatement options. SOLUTIONS takes advantage of the access to the infrastructure necessary to investigate the large basins of the Danube and Rhine as well as relevant Mediterranean basins as case studies, and puts major efforts on stakeholder dialogue and support. Particularly, the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) Common Implementation Strategy (CIS) working groups, International River Commissions, and water works associations are directly supported with consistent guidance for the early detection, identification, prioritisation, and abatement of chemicals in the water cycle. SOLUTIONS will give a specific emphasis on concepts and tools for the impact and risk assessment of complex mixtures of emerging pollutants, their metabolites and transformation products. Analytical and effect-based screening tools will be applied together with ecological assessment tools for the identification of toxicants and their impacts. The SOLUTIONS approach is expected to provide transparent and evidence-based candidates or River Basin Specific Pollutants in the case study basins and to assist future review of priority pollutants under the WFD as well as potential abatement options.