Professional summary

David obtained a BSc in Biology from the University of Manchester and his PhD and first Post-doctoral position were at the University of Reading, where he developed and assessed the ecological relevant of different bioassay methods for assessing the effects of pollutants on soil invertebrate species.

David Joined the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology in 1998, working first at Monks Wood and since 2008 at Wallingford as a Principal Scientist. Since 2001 he has been a Merit Scientist in the field of ecotoxicology and chemical risk. In his work he specializes in assessing the effects of anthropogenic stressors and pollution on soil communities in agricultural, urban, and semi-natural and natural ecosystems. His research covers a variety of topics: he was part of the EU NanoFASE project investigating the fate, bioavailability and effects of nanomaterials on terrestrial species, and he has received funding from the Natural Environment Research Council for projects on the application of genetic and epigenetic approaches to understand adaptation to long-term chemical exposure.

A key theme in his work has been in understanding the mechanisms that underlie variation in how species respond to chemical exposure. This is the key topic of his current work which seeks to bring new system-level understanding of species response to exposures. He has acted as an advisor to the UK Environment Agency on mixture toxicity integration into chemical management and for EFSA on emerging risk issues. He is a member of the management board of the GW4+ DTP and EcoRISC CDT and a member of the UK Expert Committee on Pesticides.

Selected publications

Robinson Alex et al. , (2021), Chemicals with increasingly complex modes of action result in greater variation in sensitivity between earthworm species. Environmental Pollution, 272, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2020.115914

Bart Sylvain et al. , (2021), Predicting mixture effects over time with toxicokinetic–toxicodynamic models (GUTS): assumptions, experimental testing, and predictive power. Environmental Science & Technology, 55, 2430-2439, http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.0c05282

Spurgeon David et al. , (2020), Species sensitivity to toxic substances: evolution, ecology and applications. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 8, http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2020.588380

Bart Sylvain et al. , (2023), Modelling the effects of the pyrethroid insecticide cypermethrin on the life cycle of the soil dwelling annelid Enchytraeus crypticus, an original experimental design to calibrate a DEB-TKTD model. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 250, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2023.114499

Lahive E. et al. , (2023), Soil properties influence the toxicity and availability of Zn from ZnO nanoparticles to earthworms. Environmental Pollution, 319, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2022.120907

Svendsen Claus et al. , (2020), Key principles and operational practices for improved nanotechnology environmental exposure assessment. Nature Nanotechnology, 15, 731-742, http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41565-020-0742-1

Spurgeon David et al. , (2022), Proportional contributions to organic chemical mixture effects in groundwater and surface water. Water Research, 220, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2022.118641

Billings Alex et al. , (2023), Co-occurrence of macroplastics, microplastics, and legacy and emerging plasticisers in UK soils. Science of the Total Environment, 880, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.163258

Spurgeon David et al. , (2022), Worst-case ranking of organic chemicals detected in groundwaters and surface waters in England. Science of the Total Environment, 835, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.155101

Short Stephen et al. , (2023), The genome sequence of the red compost earthworm, Lumbricus rubellus (Hoffmeister, 1843). Wellcome Open Research, 8, http://dx.doi.org/10.12688/wellcomeopenres.19834.1