Pharmacology, Toxicology and Environmental Health Commons^™

The Effects Of Spatial And Temporal Heterogeneity On The Population Dynamics Of Four Animal Species In A Danish Landscape, Richard M. Sibly, Jacob Nabe-Nielsen, Mads C. Forchhammer, Valery E. Forbes, Christopher J. Topping

Valery Forbes Publications

Background: Variation in carrying capacity and population return rates is generally ignored in traditional studies of population dynamics. Variation is hard to study in the field because of difficulties controlling the environment in order to obtain statistical replicates, and because of the scale and expense of experimenting on populations. There may also be ethical issues. To circumvent these problems we used detailed simulations of the simultaneous behaviours of interacting animals in an accurate facsimile of a real Danish landscape. The models incorporate as much as possible of the behaviour and ecology of skylarks Alauda arvensis, voles Microtus agrestis, …

Effects Of The Polycyclic Musk Hhcb On Individual- And Population-Level Endpoints In Potamopyrgus Antipodarum, Signe Pedersen, Henriette Selck, Daniel Salvito, Valery E. Forbes

Valery Forbes Publications

Although the polycyclic musk 1,3,4,6,7,8-hexahydro-4,6,6,7,8,8-hexamethylcyclopenta[γ]-2-benzopyran (HHCB) is frequently detected in aquatic sediments, very little is known about its effects on sediment-feeding organisms. Effects of sediment-associated HHCB on growth, feeding rate, survival and reproduction in the gastropod Potamopyrgus antipodarum were measured in the laboratory. Snails were exposed to six nominal HHCB concentrations: 0, 0.1, 1, 10, 30 and 100 μg g−1 dry weight (dw) sediment. Adult survival and growth were not affected by HHCB. However, juvenile growth and survival, reproduction, time to first reproduction and adult feeding rate were more sensitive endpoints and declined with increasing HHCB concentration. Individual-level endpoints for …

Cream: A European Project On Mechanistic Effect Models For Ecological Risk Assessment Of Chemicals, Volker Grimm, Roman Ashauer, Valery E. Forbes, Udo Hommen, Thomas G. Preuss, Annette Schmidt, Paul Van Den Brink, Jörn Wogram, Pernille Thorbek

Valery Forbes Publications

Examples that clearly demonstrate the power of mechanistic effect models (MEMs) for risk assessment are urgently needed, and industry, academia, and regulatory authorities across Europe need scientists that are trained in MEMs, principles of ecotoxicology, and regulatory risk assessment.

To meet these needs, Chemical Risk Effects Assessment Models (CREAM), a European project including 20 Ph.D. and three postdoctoral projects, has been launched for September 2009 and will last for 4 years. CREAM is a “Marie Curie Initial Training Network (ITN)” funded by the European Commission within the 7th Framework Programme. ITNs are part of the commission’s “People” Programme and focus …

The Potential For The Use Of Agent-Based Models In Ecotoxicology, Christopher J. Topping, Trine Dalkvist, Valery E. Forbes, Volker Grimm, Richard M. Sibly

Valery Forbes Publications

This chapter introduces ABMs, their construction, and the pros and cons of their use. Although relatively new, agent-based models (ABMs) have great potential for use in ecotoxicological research – their primary advantage being the realistic simulations that can be constructed and particularly their explicit handling of space and time in simulations. Examples are provided of their use in ecotoxicology primarily exemplified by different implementations of the ALMaSS system. These examples presented demonstrate how multiple stressors, landscape structure, details regarding toxicology, animal behavior, and socioeconomic effects can and should be taken into account when constructing simulations for risk assessment. Like ecological …

The Amphipod Orchomenella Pinguis — A Potential Bioindicator For Contamination In The Arctic, Lis Bach, Valery E. Forbes, Ingela Dahllöf

Valery Forbes Publications

Indigenous organisms can be used as bioindicators for effects of contaminants, but no such bioindicator has been established for Arctic areas. Orchomenella pinguis is a benthic amphipod, ubiquitous in the Arctic and can be found in high numbers. We collected O. pinguis at sites with different contamination levels. Population characteristics (body length distribution, average dry weight and amphipod organic content) were related to sediment contaminant concentrations, in order to identify suitable endpoints for using this species as a bioindicator. We show that O. pinguis was prevalent in both clean and contaminated areas, easy to sample and that its population characteristics …

Mechanistic Effect Models For Ecological Risk Assessment Of Chemicals (Memorisk) — A New Setac-Europe Advisory Group, Thomas G. Preuss, Udo Hommen, Anne Alix, Roman Ashauer, Paul Van Den Brink, Peter Chapman, Virginie Ducrot, Valery E. Forbes, Volker Grimm, Dieter Schäfer, Franz Streissl, Pernille Thorbek

Valery Forbes Publications

Recent reviews of the state-of-the-art of ecological modeling for risk assessments have highlighted the need for standardization of modeling approaches (Pastorok et al. 2003; Grimm et al. 2009). Such standardization requires concerted actions with all stakeholders involved in the regulatory process.

Therefore, a new SETAC-Europe Advisory Group on “Mechanistic effect models for ecological risk assessment of chemicals” (MEMoRisk) was established in autumn 2008. During the SETAC-Europe Annual Meeting in Warsaw in May 2008, 21 people joined the founding meeting where the necessity, scope and aim of such a group were discussed. A founding steering committee (the authors of this paper) …

Ecological Models In Support Of Regulatory Risk Assessments Of Pesticides: Developing A Strategy For The Future [Short Communication], Valery E. Forbes, Udo Hommen, Pernille Thorbek, Fred Heimbach, Paul J. Van Den Brink, Jörn Wogram, Hans-Hermann Thulke, Volker Grimm

Valery Forbes Publications

This brief communication reports on the main findings of the LEMTOX workshop, held from September 9 to 12,2007, 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 …