Topic: Behavioural Toxicology
Date: October 5-8, 2025
Location: Victoria, BC
Behaviour integrates sub-organismal responses into outcomes apparent in the movement of the
individual. Behaviour also is a means by which animals integrate into populations and ecology. For this
reason, behavioural responses can represent a middle out approach in ecotoxicity modelling. The goal of
this session is to bring together researchers working on aquatic contaminants, including pesticides,
pharmaceuticals, personal care products, metals, hormones, to translate their behavioural effects to
ecological outcomes. A focus will be to include mathematical modelers to translate behavioural
phenotypic changes to population alterations. This focus is also tied to another key goal of this session:
addressing the urgent need to incorporate behavioral endpoints into regulatory decision-making and
ecological risk assessments. Given the impacts of chemicals on migration, mate choice, reproduction,
feeding and anti-predator behaviors, it is striking that very little attention has been given to behavioral
endpoints by regulatory agencies for the marketing of new chemical products and in the design of risk
assessment frameworks.
A theme will be to explore the interactive or mixture effects of multiple contaminants and abiotic
stressors, such as those related to pH, temperature, salinity, UV radiation, and greenhouse gas
emissions.
The session aims to capture an audience interested in both ecosystem health, human health, and the
One Health concept.
If interested, please reach out to Zhanika Gimeno at gimeno@ualberta.ca.