EthoCRED : a framework to guide reporting and evaluation of the relevance and reliability of behavioural ecotoxicity studies
Year: 2024
Type: review
Abstract: Behavioural analysis has been attracting significant attention as a broad indicator of sub-lethal toxicity and has secured a place as an important subdiscipline in ecotoxicology. Among the most notable characteristics of behavioural research, compared to other established approaches in sub-lethal ecotoxicology (e.g. reproductive and developmental bioassays), are the wide range of study designs being used and the diversity of endpoints considered. At the same time, environmental hazard and risk assessment, which underpins regulatory decisions to protect the environment from potentially harmful chemicals, often recommends that ecotoxicological data be produced following accepted and validated test guidelines. These guidelines typically do not address behavioural changes, meaning that these, often sensitive, effects are not represented in hazard and risk assessments. Here, we propose a new tool, the EthoCRED evaluation method, for assessing the relevance and reliability of behavioural ecotoxicity data, which considers the unique requirements and challenges encountered in this field. This method and accompanying reporting recommendations are designed to serve as an extension of the "Criteria for Reporting and Evaluating Ecotoxicity Data (CRED)" project. As such, EthoCRED can both accommodate the wide array of experimental design approaches seen in behavioural ecotoxicology, and could be readily implemented into regulatory frameworks as deemed appropriate by policy makers of different jurisdictions to allow better integration of knowledge gained from behavioural testing into environmental protection. Furthermore, through our reporting recommendations, we aim to improve the reporting of behavioural studies in the peer-reviewed literature, and thereby increase their usefulness to inform chemical regulation.
DOI: 10.1111/brv.13154
Authors: Michael G. Bertram, Marlene Ågerstrand, Eli S.J. Thoré, Joel Allen, Sigal Balshine, Jack A. Brand, Bryan W. Brooks, ZhiChao Dang, Sabine Duquesne, Alex T. Ford, Frauke Hoffmann, Henner Hollert, Stefanie Jacob, Werner Kloas, Nils Klüver, Jim Lazorchak, Mariana Ledesma, Gerd Maack, Erin L. Macartney, Jake M. Martin, Steven D. Melvin, Marcus Michelangeli, Silvia Mohr, Stephanie Padilla, Gregory Pyle, Minna Saaristo, René Sahm, Els Smit, Jeffery A. Steevens, Sanne van den Berg, Laura E. Vossen, Donald Wlodkowic, Bob B.M. Wong, Michael Ziegler, Tomas Brodin
Institutions: Stockholm University, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Monash University, University of Namur, Institute of Life, Earth and Environment, KU Leuven, Environmental Protection Agency, McMaster University, Zoological Society of London, Baylor University, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, German Environment Agency, University of Portsmouth, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Goethe University Frankfurt, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Swedish Chemicals Agency, The University of Sydney, UNSW Sydney, Deakin University, Griffith University, University of Lethbridge, Environment Protection Authority Victoria, University of Kassel, United States Geological Survey, Columbia Environmental Research Center, Wageningen University & Research, RMIT University, Eurofins (Germany), University of Tübingen
Language: English
Subfield: Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $5,130
Funders: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Marie-Claire Cronstedts Stiftelse, Kempe Foundation, European Commission, Svenska Forskningsrådet Formas, Vetenskapsrådet, Kempestiftelserna, Stockholms Universitet, Umweltbundesamt, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Geological Survey, Australian Research Council, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
Awards: The interactive effects of temperature and pharmaceuticals in aquatic systems, G2777400950, G3239649357, G3697405983, G434337789, G4884906763, Endocrine disruption in wildlife: a sexual selection perspective , Interactions of Climate Change on Oceans and Human Health: Assessment of Effects on Ocean Health Related Illness and Disease and Development of Prevention Strategies to Better Protect Public Health, Antibiotic rivers: impacts of antibiotic exposure on the gut microbiome of fish and consequence for health, behaviour, and cognition, G5867877676, Brain teaser: are impacts of pharmaceutical pollution on wildlife mediated by brain size?, Wildlife responses to endocrine disruptors, Drugs in the wild: Evaluating the impacts of pharmaceutical pollution in aquatic ecosystems, from individuals to animal communities, G712881263, How drugs in the wild affect animal behaviour, ecosystems, and evolution, G8217905538, G8721973322
OpenAlex ID: W4403345995