Publications & Downloads

Faupel et al. (2019) Functional endpoints as perspective for the definition of protection goals in regulatory ecotoxicology

The development of guidance documents by EFSA for regulatory ecotoxicology under regulation ( 1107 2009 is lacking by the definition of specific protection goals

Jakoby et al. (2019) Designing and conducting mesofauna field studies What should study design consider in terms of sample storage, extraction and detectable differences?

Mesofauna field studies can be conducted as higher tier refinement option. Such studies investigate effects on species composition and abundance at community/population level under realistic exposure conditions

Esther et al. (2019) Proposed Indoor Test Procedure to Quantify Pesticide Treatment Effects on Seed Consumption by Birds

Pesticides used in seed coatings can influence seed consumption by birds and, therefore, actual exposure risk for them. A quantification of such effects on consumption is currently not regarded as a refinement factor in environmental risk assessments, although it is a possible option and should be considered, for example, for comparing exposure risk of different pesticides.

Nikisch, Mediancev, Jakoby (2018) RIFCON EasyGUTS: User-friendly and freely available software for TK/TD modelling of survival

GUTS (General Unified Threshold model of Survival) is one of the most commonly used models for toxicokinetic and toxicodynamic evaluations of aquatic experiments in the context of the European registration of plant protection products at lower tiers in the ecotoxicological risk assessment.

Nikisch, Wittwer (2018) Population dynamics of a soil arthropod simulated using an individual based population model and established fate model data

Many of the available ecotoxicological models deal with protection goals that address field populations. Effect models are often stochastic and spatially explicit. This however makes these models more complex in comparison to the established deterministic exposure models and therefore considerable effort is needed for their verification, validation and comprehensive communication.

Nikisch, Lutz (2017) EasyGUTS Running R GUTS scripts in a Windows® based software

We developed a Windows® software to manipulate and run R GUTS scripts for the evaluation of surface water exposure profiles calculated with the environmental fate model FOCUS TOXSWA 4.4.3.

Faupel et al. (2017) Functional endpoints in ecotoxicology: A case study in freshwater indoor microcosms

Little is known about the influence of toxicants on the function of freshwater sediments. To better understand these effects, a microcosm experiment was carried out with Cadmium (Cd) as a model pollutant (50 and 400 mg Cd kg-1 dry sediment).

Nikisch, Llandera, Lutz (2017) Step4ward – An Efate Toolbox

‘Step4ward’ is a user-friendly Windows® toolbox to automate PECsw calculations, extract data from the current models FOCUS TOXSWA and SWAN and create MS Word® tables in the current dRR format.

Lückmann, Ludwigs, Delgado-Cartay (2015) Non-target organisms – higher-tier methods to refine the risk of plant protection products

Nickisch, Erlacher (2014) Modelling concentrations of PPP in ground water after spray application to hop

Hop is not available as crop in the FOCUS groundwater models. In this study we tested if it is necessary to consider the singularity of a crop for the registration of a pesticide or if it is possible to use one of the existent FOCUS crops as a surrogate. Calculations were performed for the non-FOCUS crop hop using hop specific data (e.g. LAI) derived from field measurements.

Henkes, Henkes (2012) Computer controlled High Gradient Extractor for soil organisms

Soil micro-arthropods, such as Acari and Collembola, are essential components of the soil decomposer system and valuable indicators of soil quality and soil biodiversity. Evaluating the impact of agrochemicals or assessing the risks posed by genetically modified plants (GMOs) on micro-soil organisms is likely to gain more importance in the future.

Seiterle-Winn, Hörold (2012) Impact of the Rainfall Criterion in the EFSA Soil Persistence Guideline on Kinetic Evaluation of Field Degradation Trials

In 2010 the EFSA published a new guidance on soil persistence for the derivation of field half lives of pesticides with the aim to exclude loss processes at the soil surface (i.e. photolysis, volatilisation) .