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✦ Interested in getting to know E3G and/or each of the research lines?
✦ Do you have a project idea/master's thesis/doctoral dissertation that you would like to develop with us?
✦ Do you want to be part of one of the several projects we present?
Contact the principal investigators!
Master's thesis proposal
Research Group: Soil Ecology and Ecotoxicology Laboratory
Staff responsible for supervision: Tiago Natal da Luz; José Paulo Sousa
Proposed topic: Assessing effects of bio-pesticides in non-target terrestrial organisms
The current European Farm to Fork (F2F) strategy aims at a reduction of 50% in the application of the most hazardous pesticides by 2030. This goal prompted the boost of a new research field linked to the development and risk assessment of novel bio-pesticides, having either a microbial, plant or animal origin. The existing regulation in Europe is vague regarding the data requirements (i.e., the type of tests to be performed to assess effects in non-target organisms) for the ecological risk assessment of these compounds. This project, to be developed in collaboration with the SME CloverStrategy Lda and Ascenza, Portugal, aims to test new hybrid and bio-PPPs containing microbial and animal proteins as active substances on different species of non-target terrestrial organisms, namely honey-bees (Apis mellifera iberiensis), parasitoid wasps (Aphidius rhopalosiphi) and soil collembola Folsomia candida. The outcome of this study will contribute not only for the developmental phase of these products, but also to select the best ecotoxicological tests to incorporate in the future data requirements for these products.
By being partially conducted in a consulting laboratory, this project will allow students to enter in contact with a “working environment” from a private laboratory, gaining useful experience when entering the employment market.
