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EthoCRED: A framework to guide evaluation of the reliability and relevance of behavioural ecotoxicity studies
Citation:
Bertram, M., M. Ågerstrand, Joel Allen, B. Brooks, Z. Dang, S. Duquesne, A. Ford, F. Hoffmann, H. Hollert, S. Jacob, W. Kloas, N. Klüever, Jim Lazorchak, M. Ledesma, G. Maack, S. Melvin, S. Mohr, S. Padilla, G. Pyle, M. Saaristo, R. Sahm, E. Smit, J. Steevens, E. Thoré, S. van den Berg, L. Vossen, B. Wong, M. Ziegler, AND T. Brodin. EthoCRED: A framework to guide evaluation of the reliability and relevance of behavioural ecotoxicity studies. International Society for Behavioral Ecology Congress 2022, Stockholm, SWEDEN, July 28 - August 02, 2022.
Impact/Purpose:
Presentation on a workshop held in 2018 on use of Behavioral endpoints in regulatory programs.
Description:
Behavioural analysis has been garnering significant attention as a broad indicator of sub-lethal toxicity, and has secured a place as an important sub-discipline in aquatic ecotoxicology. One of the most notable characteristics of behavioural research, compared to other established approaches in sub-lethal ecotoxicology (e.g. reproductive and developmental bioassays), is 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 behavioral 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 reliability and relevance 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 is able to be readily implemented into regulatory frameworks in 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 behavioral studies in the peer-reviewed literature, and thereby increase their usefulness in chemicals regulation.
