CIRI FRAME/Animal and Environmental Physiology Research Group

The Animal and Environmental Physiology Laboratory studies how living organisms – from marine animals to humans – react to the presence of so-called Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs), substances that are increasingly widespread but are not yet subject to monitoring or regulation. These can be very different compounds: human and veterinary drugs, plastics and bioplastics with their additives, through to endocrine disruptors. Even in minute quantities, these contaminants can impact the health of coastal ecosystems, compromising the growth, reproduction and well-being of marine organisms.

To understand these phenomena, the laboratory uses bivalves such as oysters and mussels, both adult and larval, as biological models. Through early monitoring campaigns, an assessment is made of the health of marine organisms and its close connection to environmental quality, using a broad set of internationally recognised biochemical, physiological and histological (biomarker) tests (UNEP, OSPAR). The analyses are complemented by high-sensitivity measurements of CEC concentrations in the environments being studied.

Alongside research on marine organisms, the laboratory also carries out studies on cultured human cells, with the aim of assessing the possible effects on reproductive tissues, mammary glands and placenta of emerging contaminants that may be present in drinking water.