SREL Reprint #3589
Integration of ecosystem science into radioecology: A consensus perspective
Olin E. Rhodes Jr1, Francois Bréchignac2, Clare Bradshaw3, Thomas G. Hinton4, Carmel Mothersill5,
John A. Arnone III6, Doug P. Aubrey7, Lawrence W. Barnthouse8, James C. Beasley7,
Andrea Bonisoli-Alquati9, Lindsay R. Boring10, Albert L. Bryan1, Krista A. Capps1,11, Bernard Clément12,
Austin Coleman1, Caitlin Condon13, Fanny Coutelot14, Timothy DeVol15, Guha Dharmarajan1,
Dean Fletcher1, Wes Flynn16, Garth Gladfelder13, Travis C. Glenn17, Susan Hendricks18, Ken Ishida19,
Tim Jannik20, Larry Kapustka21, Ulrik Kautsky22, Robert Kennamer1, Wendy Kuhne23, Stacey Lance1,
Gennadiy Laptyev24, Cara Love1, Lisa Manglass15, Nicole Martinez15, Teresa Mathews25, Arthur McKee26,
William McShea27, Steve Mihok28, Gary Mills1, Ben Parrott1, Brian Powell29,36, Evgeny Pryakhin30,
Ann Rypstra31, David Scott1, John Seaman1, Colin Seymour5, Maryna Shkvyria32, Amelia Ward33,
David White18, Michael D. Wood34, Jess K. Zimmerman35
1Savannah River Ecology Lab, Drawer E, Aiken, SC 29802, United States of America
2Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire, International Union of Radioecology,
Center of Cadarache, Bldg 159, BP 1, 13115 St Paul-lez-Durance cedex, France
3Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University,
SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
4Institute of Environmental Radioactivity, 1 Kanayagawa, Fukushima University, Fukushima 960-1296, Japan
5Dept. of Biology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
6Division of Earth and Ecosystem Sciences Desert Research Institute, 2215 Raggio Parkway,
Reno, NV 89512, United States of America
7Savannah River Ecology Lab, Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources,
Drawer E, Aiken, SC 29802, United States of America
8LWB Environmental Services, Inc., 1620 New London Rd., Hamilton, OH 45013, United States of America
9Department of Biological Sciences, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona,
Pomona, CA 91768, United States of America
10Joseph W. Jones Ecological Research Center, #988 Jones Center Dr.,
Newton, GA 39870, United States of America
11Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, United States of America
12Univ Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, ENTPE, UMR5023 LEHNA, F-69518,
rue Maurice Audin, Vaulx-en-Velin, France
13School of Nuclear Science and Engineering, 100 Radiation Center, Oregon State University,
Corvallis, OR 97331, United States of America
14Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences, 342 Computer Ct., Clemson University,
Clemson, SC 29625, United States of America
15Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences, 342 Computer Ct., Clemson University,
Anderson, SC 29625-6510, United States of America
16Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Purdue University, 715 W State Street,
West Lafayette, IN 47907, United States of America
17Department of Environmental Health Science, Institute of Bioinformatics,
University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, United States of America
18Hancock Biological Station, 561 Emma Dr., Murray State University,
Murray, KY 42071, United States of America
19The University of Tokyo, Yokoze, 6632-12, Yokoze-town, Chichibu-gun, 368-0072, Japan
20Savannah River National Laboratory, SRS Bldg. 999-W, Room 312,
Aiken, SC 29808, United States of America
21LK Consultancy, P.O Box 373, 100 202 Blacklock Way SW, Turner Valley, Alberta T0L 2A0, Canada
22Svensk Kärnbränslehantering AB, PO Box 3091, SE-169 03 Solna, Sweden
23Savannah River National Laboratory, 735-A, B-102, Aiken, SC 29808, United States of America
24Ukrainian HydroMeteorological Institute, 37 Prospekt Nauki, Kiev 02038, Ukraine
25Oak Ridge National Laboratory, One Bethel Valley Rd., Oak Ridge, TN 37831, United States of America
26Flathead Lake Biological Station, 32125 Bio Station Lane, Polson, MT 59860, United States of America
27Smithsonian's Conservation Biology Institute, 1500 Remount Rd.,
Front Royal, VA 22630, United States of America
28Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, P.O. Box 1046, Station B,
280 Slater St., Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5S9, Canada
29Department of Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences, 342 Computer Ct., Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29625, United States of America
30Urals Research Center for Radiation Medicine, Vorovsky Str., 68a, Chelyabinsk 454141, Russia
31Ecology Research Center, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056, United States of America
32Kyiv zoological park of national importance, prosp. Peremohy, 32, Kyiv 04116, Ukraine
33Department of Biological Sciences, PO Box 870344, University of Alabama,
Tuscaloosa, AL 35487, United States of America
34School of Science, Engineering & Environment, University of Salford, Salford M5 4WT. United Kingdom
35University of Puerto Rico, #17 Ave Universidad, San Juan 00925, Puerto Rico
36Savannah River National Laboratory, Aiken, SC 29808, United States of America
Abstract: In the Fall of 2016 a workshop was held which brought together over 50 scientists from the ecological and radiological fields to discuss feasibility and challenges of reintegrating ecosystem science into radioecology. There is a growing desire to incorporate attributes of ecosystem science into radiological risk assessment and radioecological research more generally, fueled by recent advances in quantification of emergent ecosystem attributes and the desire to accurately reflect impacts of radiological stressors upon ecosystem function. This paper is a synthesis of the discussions and consensus of the workshop participant's responses to three primary questions, which were: 1) How can ecosystem science support radiological risk assessment? 2) What ecosystem level endpoints potentially could be used for radiological risk assessment? and 3) What inference strategies and associated methods would be most appropriate to assess the effects of radionuclides on ecosystem structure and function? The consensus of the participants was that ecosystem science can and should support radiological risk assessment through the incorporation of quantitative metrics that reflect ecosystem functions which are sensitive to radiological contaminants. The participants also agreed that many such endpoints exit or are thought to exit and while many are used in ecological risk assessment currently, additional data need to be collected that link the causal mechanisms of radiological exposure to these endpoints. Finally, the participants agreed that radiological risk assessments must be designed and informed by rigorous statistical frameworks capable of revealing the causal inference tying radiological exposure to the endpoints selected for measurement.
Keywords: Ecosystem ecology; Ecosystem health; Ecotoxicology; Radioecology; Radionuclides; Risk assessment
SREL Reprint #3589
Rhodes Jr., O. E., F. Bréchignac, C. Bradshaw, T. G. Hinton, C. Mothersill, J. A. Arnone III, D. P. Aubrey, L. Barnthouse, J. C. Beasley, A. Bonisoli-Alquati, L. R. Boring, A. L. Bryan Jr., K. A. Capps, B. Clément, A. Coleman, C. Condon, F. Coutelot, T. DeVol, G. Dharmarajan, D. E. Fletcher, W. Flynn, G. Gladfelder, T. C. Glenn, S. Hendricks, K. Ishida, T. Jannik, L. Kapustka, U. Kautsky, R. A. Kennamer, W. Kuhne, S. L. Lance, G. Laptyev, C. Love, L. Manglass, N. Martinez, T. Mathews, A. M. McKee, W. McShea, S. Mihok, G. L. Mills, B. Parrott, B. Powell, E. Pryakhin, A. Rypstra, D. Scott, J. Seaman, C. Seymour, M. Shkvyria, A. Ward, D. White, M. D. Wood, and J. K. Zimmerman. 2020. Integration of ecosystem science into radioecology: A consensus perspective. Science of the Total Environment 740(2020): 140031.
This information was provided by the University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (srel.uga.edu).