Små beteendeförändringar till följd av föroreningar i laborativa miljöer: vad betyder de in situ?

Behavioral changes caused by chemical pollutants are believed to be a primary driver behind recent declines in invertebrate populations.

However, verifying that sub-lethal, pollutant-induced effects observed in artificial lab settings manifest similarly in nature is a key question that has evaded environmental scientists.

The purpose of this project is to better understand the meaning behind subtle behavioral shifts observed in the laboratory, and translate these observations into models that accurately depict invertebrate responses to stressors in nature.

The primary aim is to test a hypothesis—of fundamental importance for modern environmental science—stating that laboratory-based responses to pollutants are representative of community responses in complex natural settings.

This four-year project will utilize sounds emanating from soil macrofauna (ants and earthworms) activities (feeding, burrowing, etc.) to provide real-time insights into faunal behaviors in opaque soil matrices.

We will develop this novel, non-invasive approach for the study of soil by coupling our expertise in acoustic tracking, signal processing, and extensive soil biogeochemical testing.

We test a theory derived from the PIs recent work that suggests the behavior of the collective community may be more resilient to pollutants than the individual.

Lastly, we will compare lab-based predictions with in situ measurements of soil macrofauna behaviors in field-based experiments to test the main hypothesis.