Harnessing Modeling for Assessing the Population Relevance of Exposure to Endocrine-Active Chemicals

The presence of endocrine-active chemicals (EACs) in the environment continues to cause concern for wildlife given their potential for adverse effects on organisms. However, there is a significant lack of understanding about the potential effects of EACs on populations. This has real-world limitations for EAC management and regulation, where the aim in environmental risk assessment is to protect populations. We propose a methodological approach for the application of modeling in addressing the population relevance of EAC exposure in fish. We provide a case study with the fungicide prochloraz to illustrate how this approach could be applied. We used two population models, one for brown trout (Salmo trutta; inSTREAM) and the other for three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) that met regulatory requirements for development and validation. Effects data extracted from the literature were combined with environmentally realistic exposure profiles generated with the FOCUS SW software. Population-level effects for prochloraz were observed in some modeling scenarios (hazard-threshold [HT]) but not others (dose-response), demonstrating the repercussions of making different decisions on implementation of exposure and effects. The population responses, defined through changes in abundance and biomass, of both trout and stickleback exposed to prochloraz were similar, indicating that the use of conservative effects/exposure decisions in model parameterization may be of greater significance in determining population-level adverse effects to EAC exposure than life-history characteristics. Our study supports the use of models as an effective approach to evaluate the adverse effects of EACs on fish populations. In particular, our HT parameterization is proposed for the use of population modeling in a regulatory context in accordance with Commission Regulation (EU) 2018/605. Environ Toxicol Chem 2023;42:1624-1640. © 2023 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC.