Nico van den Brink
Senior scientific researcher
Education
1989 Masters Aquatic ecology
Institution University of Groningen
1997 PhD Monitoring organochlorines in Antarctica
Field of work
- Environmental Toxicology
- Ecotoxicology
- Environmental Pollution
- Environmental Impact Assessment
- Risk Assessment
Key projects
- Breaking Ecotoxicological restraints in spatial planning (BERISP).
- INTERREGIIIB financed project on the development of a DSS for a spatially explicit risk assessment procedure. This focuses on the spatial behavior of animals, and integrates this with the spatial occurrence of contaminants. See: www.berisp.org
- Effects of environment management on the exposure of higher organisms to contaminants. Environmental management involves measures that may alter the habitat and the abiotic environment of this habitat.For example, a more natural management of (formerly) agricultural areas may result in a decrease iof the soil-pH, and as such an elevated risk on accumulation fo heavy metals like cadmium. Such internal increase of bioaccumulation may result in increasing risks that contaminants may pose to higher organisms, even without the import of external contaminants. This project is focused on describing the effects of abiotic changes on the accumulation patterns of contaminants and seeks to validate this with field measurements.
- Side effects of land management measures on higher organisms
In the Netherlands, most environmental measures to manage habitats are focused on floristic endpoints. Generally, it is assumed that when the conditions are right for the floristic part of an ecosystem, the faunistic part will follow. This assumption is under research in this project, and rules of thumb will be prepared which can be used in order to optimize environmental management in relation to faunistic endpoints.
- Monitoring contaminants in Antarctic top predators
In this project contaminants in Antarctic seabirds are monitored in time trends. This is focused not only on legacy compounds like PCBs and DDE, but also on new emerging ones like brominated flame retardants.
Key publications
- Van den Brink, N.W., Van Franeker, J.A. & De Ruiter-Dijkman, E.M. 1998. Fluctuating concentrations of organochlorine pollutants during a breeding season in two Antarctic seabirds: Adélie Penguin and Southern Fulmar. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 17:702-709.
- Van den Brink, N.W., Bosveld, A.T.C., de Ruiter-Dijkman, E.M., Broekhuizen, S, & Reijnders, P.J.H. (2000). PCB pattern analysis (PPA): a potential non-destructive biomarker in vertebrates for exposure to cytochrome P450 inducing organochlorines Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry 19:575-581.
- Van den Brink, N.W., Groen, N.M., De Jonge, J. & Bosveld, A.T.C. (2003). Ecotoxicological suitability of floodplain habitats in The Netherlands for the little owl (Athene noctua vidalli). Environmental Pollution 122:127-134.
- Van den Brink, N.W. (2004) Soil and higher organisms: from bottom-up relations to top-down monitoring. In: Vital soil; function, value and properties / Doelman, Dr ir P., Eijsackers, Prof dr H.J.P., . - Amsterdam [etc.] : Elsevier, 2004 (Developments in Soil Science 29) - ISBN 0-444-51772-3 - p. 215 - 244.
- Van den Brink, N.W. & Bosveld, A.T.C. (2005) AROD activities and PCB patterns in shrews as biomarkers in environmental risk assessments: sensitivity and specificity. Environmental Science & Technology 39 (18) : 7337-7343.
Full publication list