Bart van Hall

Bart van Hall, Junior researcher

b.g.vanhall@vu.nl

I am interested in assessing the effects of chemical contamination of the environment on fauna, especially macroinvertebrates. My aim is to provide regulators with a strong scientific basis for increasing the accuracy and ecological relevance of chemical risk assessment.

During my Masters I primarily studied the water compartment, investigating ways to innovate ecotoxicological sediment quality assessment by incorporating biological and chemical fingerprints.

Currently, my research shifts away from the water compartment to the soil compartment. I focus on improving our understanding of the relationship between the bioavailability of organic chemicals to soil invertebrates and soil properties, with emphasis on soil organic matter content. I am doing this by performing ecotoxicological tests with different soils and pesticides, using earthworms and springtails as model species.