Chemservice team member Dr. Tomás Duque has successfully completed his Ph.D. studies on “Chemical sensitivity of spiders and earthworms: effects of ecology, phylogeny and habitat”
Dr Tomás Duque, Regulatory Affairs Advisor at Chemservice Germany, has published his Ph.D. Thesis on “Chemical sensitivity of spiders and earthworms: effects of ecology, phylogeny and habitat”.
Biodiversity has declined by approximately 70% in the last 50 years for vertebrate and invertebrate species. This loss in biodiversity is strongly connected with anthropogenic activities, such as agricultural intensification and pollution. Currently, pesticides are needed to secure the growing global food demand, although they are recognized as one of the main drivers of biodiversity loss, mainly in agricultural areas. The outcomes of this thesis contribute to informing pesticide regulatory practices, allowing for an improved protection and conservation of terrestrial organism groups and the ecosystem services they provide. The consideration of ecological traits, habitat variability and related plasticity, key species, and ecological network structure could improve the risk assessment framework and minimize the effects of pesticides and other stressors on an ecosystem-level. Findings from this research project have also been presented at international conferences and published in leading journals.
Access to the dissertation can be obtained via the following link:
The doctoral thesis is strongly linked to EU PSM Risk Assessment, where Tomás was part of a CEFIC project. More information can be obtained via the following link: