Network of BASC ecotoxicologists

Leaders: Christian Mougin (ECOSYS) and Elisabeth Rémy (SADAPT)        

Partners: Fédération FIRE, members of the Pollusols network

.Context and objectives

The need to integrate and develop ecotoxicology for better management of tomorrow's territories

Knowledge of the fate and flows of chemical contaminants in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, and of their impact on living organisms, is of vital importance today. These include metals, organic contaminants (pesticides, drugs, plasticizers, etc.), as well as toxins of biological origin, which can cause endocrine disruption, genotoxicity or disturbances to growth or reproduction.

Whether intentionally or unintentionally introduced into the environment, these contaminants modify the functioning of agro-ecosystems, their structures and the ecosystem services they provide, with impacts on fauna, flora and human health that have yet to be assessed. Relevant assessment of ecotoxicological and health risks thus represents an international challenge today, to help implement regulations and management strategies for sustainable agriculture, urban planning and regional development.

An interdisciplinary network to better describe, assess, predict and correct the effects of contaminant mixtures at low doses, in the context of medium- and long-term chronic exposure.

At territorial level, the network's objectives are to develop a multi-criteria assessment strategy that includes ecotoxicological, ecological, agronomic and socio-economic approaches. To achieve this, it will draw on the various analytical platforms (liquid/liquid or solid-phase extraction, chromatography combined with mass spectrometry, biochemistry, etc.), in vitro and in vivo biological models and experimental facilities (environmental observatories) developed within the BASC teams.

To this end, the network's actions aim to federate the forces of ecotoxicology research in the Ile-de-France region. The network is thus equipped with light incentive resources and regularly organizes scientific events, notably with the support of the Ile-de-France region (Domaines d'Intérêt Majeurs), to strengthen links between the scientists concerned, encourage the emergence of multi-partner cross-disciplinary research projects and boost its visibility. For example, the projects should enable the development of generic approaches and tools to assess, understand and predict the impacts of chemical contamination on socio-agrosystems, integrating local constraints (urbanization, etc.) and global changes (climate change, land use, etc.). This involves experiments at different scales (laboratory, micro and mesocosms, workshop sites) that can be carried out by LabEx BASC partners, in terrestrial or aquatic environments..

Thanks to its skills and resources, the network is also a major player in higher education in ecotoxicology in the Ile-de-France region. It interacts with the Ile-de-France Federation of Environmental Research (FIRE) and is part of the ongoing structuring of the national ecotoxicology research system, in conjunction with toxicology, and interacts in particular with the INRA ecotoxicologists' network, with the national microbial ecotoxicology network, with the National Biology-Health Infrastructure "Analysis and Experimentation on Ecosystems" ANAEE-France and with PIREN-Seine...

Contacts :

Mailing list for network members: ecobasc@inra.fr
Contact for other people: contact-ecobasc@inra.fr

Interesting links :

• FIRE federation web portal
• Web portal of ECOTOX, terrestrial and aquatic ecotoxicology network
• Website of the Microbial Ecotoxicology network

Results

The aim is to create synergies between biotechnical and social science approaches to better meet the expectations of local authorities, developers, users and organizations in charge of the environment and health in the Ile-de-France region.

One of the network's major actions was to support the publication of the book "Les sols urbains sont-ils cultivables", published in 2020 by Quae. The aim of this book is to report on a day of exchanges organized by the GT "Risques liés aux jardins collectifs et privatifs urbains", POLLUSOLS, LabEx BASC and FIRE, on May 13, 2019 on an innovative subject: the quality of urban and peri-urban soils, which are of growing concern to local authorities and users alike.

Urban and peri-urban soils are complex environments which, because of their history and/or their past and present environment, can present potentially degraded agronomic, environmental and sanitary qualities. They can also be receptacles for a variety of wastes and contaminants linked to human activities (legacy of industrial wastelands or activities, landfills, agricultural practices (inputs of wastewater or contaminated soil improvers), fallout from more or less localized air pollution (industry, road transport, etc.). However, they are increasingly used for recreational purposes (green spaces) or for food production (urban agriculture or collective urban gardens). Managers and local authorities are frequently asked to create these collective gardens (shared gardens, allotments). Users are asking questions about the quality of the environments thus frequented and the produce grown in urban and peri-urban environments. Finally, in the context of sustainable development, how can we anticipate these problems when planning future urban areas?

Publications 

>  Mougin C., Douay F., Canavese M., Lebeau T., Rémy E., coord. (2020), Les sols urbains sont-ils cultivables? Quae, ISBN 978-2-7592-3202-4, référence 02745.

> Mougin C., Bouchez A., Denaix L., Garric J., Martin-Laurent F. (2018). ECOTOX, new questions for terrestrial and aquatic ecotoxicology.Environ Sci Pollut Res. doi:10.1007/s11356-018-3179-4

> Traoré, H., Crouzet, O., Mamy, L. et al.(2018). Clustering pesticides according to their molecular properties, fate, and effects by considering additional ecotoxicological parameters in the TyPol method. Environ Sci Pollut Res (2018) 25: 4728. doi:10.1007/s11356-017-0758-8**