Laboratory for Environmental Toxicology

The Environmental Toxicology research unit of the Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology and Aquatic Ecology has more than 20 years of proven and internationally recognized ecotoxicological research expertise. Currently the team is composed of 17 scientists and technicians and approximately 8 to 10 students/year conduct their thesis research in the Laboratory. The research themes of the Laboratory, which is completely equipped with state-of-the art exposure and analysis equipment, are concerned with both fundamental and applied aspects of aquatic and terrestrial ecotoxicology and ecological risk assessment. The main aims of the research are to examine the effects (at different levels of biological organisation, and in both the freshwater as the marine environment) and bioavailability of environmental contaminants in general and of (1) metals and (2) endocrine disruptors and persistent contaminants, in particular. The Laboratory is composed of different sub-teams each studying one of the following aspects: bioavailability of metals in soils, sediments and water, effects of adaptation and acclimation on metal toxicity, bioavailability and toxicity of endocrine disrupting and persistent pollutants in vertebrates and invertebrates. Validation and assessment of the ecological relevance of (toxicity) data obtained in laboratory is central to the research philosophy of the team members.