Ecological and evolutionary cost of chemical mixtures (CopeMix)
Short description
In CopeMix we study if chemical mixtures in the environment can drive evolution and cause changes in biodiversity with subsequent loss of resilience and structural and functional deterioration of pelagic plankton communities.
Members
Ingela Dahllöf (professor)
Christina Jönander (PhD student)
Collaborations
Peter Tiselius (professor)
Mats Töpel, Department of Marine Sciences
Ida-Maja Hassellöv, Chalmers
More about the project
The aim of CopeMix is to determine whether environmentally realistic chemical mixtures function as evolutionary drivers that cause changes in biodiversity and subsequent loss of resilience and structural and functional deterioration of pelagic plankton communities. Marine plankton communities will be used as model system as these can be kept under near-realistic conditions while providing a high diversity of test organisms.
Focus will be on three model mixtures representing contamination from shipping activities, sewage treatment plants, and and a combination of those in order to simulate different coastal habitats.
The project will contribute will knowledge on the evolutionary and ecological potential of chemical mixtures at realistic concentrations to shape marine plankton communities. The results, methods and end-points will contribute to the development of a more holistic approach to ecological risk assessment of mixtures that is lacking today.
