Rethinking pesticide risk assessment to benefit people and pollinators

My research focuses on identifying effective strategies to reverse the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services, with a particular emphasis on insect pollinators. To address this challenge, I work across two core areas using inter- and transdisciplinary approaches: 

• advancing sustainable agricultural practices that enhance both crop yields and pollinator diversity, while reducing the risk pollinator exposure to pesticides

• developing, testing, and evaluating measures that support long-term insect conservation.

Functional approaches in microbial ecotoxicology

Research scientist in microbial ecotoxicology at INRAE (the French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment), I work within the EABX research unit. My research focuses on the functional responses and adaptive processes of aquatic microbial communities to contamination in the context of global change. More recently, my work has particularly addressed the acquisition of tolerance to pharmaceutical residues in microbial communities chronically exposed to these compounds, following the principle of Pollution-Induced Community Tolerance (PICT).

Microscopic yet essential, microbial communities provide a wide range of ecosystem functions and services, including primary production, nutrient recycling, and contaminant degradation. In response to environmental contamination, these communities can adapt rapidly, sometimes with negative consequences for the functions and services they support. Through examples drawn from both field and experimental studies, this plenary lecture will highlight the value of functional measurements in microbial ecotoxicology to assess the impacts of contaminants across multiple levels of biological organization—from individuals to communities and ecosystems—and to identify microbial community adaptations resulting from chronic exposure to pollution.

Tracing marine pollution across food webs: Integrative ecotoxicology for a changing ocean

Marine ecosystems are increasingly exposed to complex mixtures of contaminants originating from industrial activities, climate-driven processes and emerging technologies. My research aims to understand how trace elements, including mercury, critical raw materials and rare earth elements, move through marine food webs and affect the health of ecosystems and top predators.
Using an integrated analytical framework combining ICP-MS, direct mercury analysis, methylmercury speciation and stable isotopes (C–N–S), we examine bioaccumulation processes from primary consumers to marine mammals in contrasting environments: the North Sea, Arctic and Baltic regions, the Bay of Biscay, and subtropical ecosystems such as the Brazilian Amazon.
Recent projects, including the Biodiversa+ MARE-WIND initiative and the EU–India Horizon Europe proposal SynerSea, incorporate ecotoxicology with trophic ecology and environmental modelling to assess cumulative impacts linked to offshore renewable infrastructures, climate variability and chemical pollution.

This plenary will present key findings from these long-term Belgian and international collaborations and discuss how integrative ecotoxicology can provide early-warning indicators, support environmental policy frameworks (MSFD, Zero Pollution Action Plan) and strengthen sustainable ocean management in an era of rapid global change.