Research
My research rationale
My research is driven by three core objectives: understanding, predicting, and mitigating the impact of human activities on our ecosystems.
To responsibly manage our ecosystems, we need to understand how they function. I often specifically focus on unraveling the ecology and behaviour of freshwater animals like fish and invertebrates, which I then use as a springboard for investigating the ecological impacts of human activities such as drug use and the use of agricultural chemicals. Additionally, I use such knowledge to help develop effective and animal-friendly husbandry in laboratory and aquaculture facilities.
My approach is multidimensional: although I do much of my work in the lab, I am increasingly expanding my research to incorporate greater ecological and economic realism. This includes employing high-resolution acoustic telemetry to track animals in their natural habitats, and implementing large-scale fish culturing in pilot aquaculture facilities. Furthermore, because studying single species in isolation falls short in capturing the complexity of the real world, I also conduct mesocosm experiments and field surveys to explore how species interact with each other.
In addition to my work with fish and invertebrates, I am also studying the cultivation and use of microalgae to help accelerate the transition to a more sustainable society. Microalgae are small organisms with a big future: they can be leveraged as part of a circular bio-economy to degrade, reduce, or detoxify (agricultural) waste while also producing valuable biomass for various purposes.
Ultimately, I aim to make meaningful contributions to the ongoing effort of safeguarding our planet’s biodiversity and securing a sustainable future for all.
Fish personality and pace-of-life
Individuals often differ from each other in how they respond to the environment. These differences are typically related to life history and physiology, but may also manifest as consistent behavioural differences among individuals (‘behavioural individuality’ or ‘animal personality’).
Adding to a growing body of evidence, I showed that behavioural individuality also exists in turquoise killifish (Nothobranchius furzeri). This holds for commonly studied traits such as activity level and boldness, as well as for daily activity change as a long-overlooked trait in ecology. Interestingly, my research also shows that the degree of daily activity change depends of the origin of the fish: turquoise killifish from ponds with a short hydroperiod get less active towards the evening, but this is not true for fish from longer-lived ponds.
Although it is often predicted that behaviour related to resource acquisition or risk-taking co-evolves with life-history and physiology, my research suggests that this might not be the case for Nothobranchius killifish.
Selected publications
Thoré, E., L. Steenaerts, C. Philippe, A. Grégoir, L. Brendonck, and T. Pinceel. Individual behavioral variation reflects personality divergence in the upcoming model organism Nothobranchius furzeri. Ecology and Evolution, 2018, 8: 8448-8457.
Thoré, E., A. Grégoir, B. Adriaenssens, C. Philippe, R. Stoks, L. Brendonck, and T. Pinceel. Population-, sex- and individual level divergence in life-history and activity patterns in an annual killifish. PeerJ, 2019, 7: e7177.
Killifish ecotoxicology: multi-generational effects in a multi-stressor world
A large part of my research to date has focused on how we can remedy this by introducing turquoise killifish as a complementary study species in ecotoxicology. Because of its extremely fast life-cycle, the species is well on its way to become the ‘vertebrate fruit fly’ and opens the route for research agendas that would be daunting with classic fish models.
Selected publications
Thoré, E., C. Philippe, L. Brendonck, and T. Pinceel. Towards improved fish tests in ecotoxicology – efficient chronic and multi-generational testing with the killifish Nothobranchius furzeri. Chemosphere, 2021, 273: 129697.
Thoré, E., F. Van Hooreweghe, C. Philippe, L. Brendonck, and T. Pinceel. Generation-specific and interactive effects of pesticide and antidepressant exposure in a fish model call for multi-stressor and multigenerational testing. Aquatic Toxicology, 2021, 232: 105743.
Impact of emerging contaminants on fish behaviour
Drugs are often fairly resistant to degradation and ultimately end up in the environment. To date, environmental concentrations of drugs are very low and unlikely to lead to toxic effects in wildlife. However, neuroactive pharmaceuticals such as antidepressants are typically designed to exert specific pharmacological effects (such as behavioural changes) at very low doses. In addition, antidepressants often target physiological pathways that are conserved across taxa, making fish susceptible to the impact of such chemicals.
Because the behavioural impact of neuroactive drugs on wildlife slips under the radar of routine ecotoxicological assessments, I devoted a large part of my research to date on how fish are affected by antidepressant exposure. Among other effects, I showed that environmental levels of antidepressants lead to impaired feeding behaviour and growth in turquoise killifish. Interestingly, drugged fish also get more social and attempt to mate more often, and produce double the amount of eggs compared to non-exposed fish. Moreover, although daily activity changes are usually not considered in ecotoxicological studies, I showed that antidepressant exposure may abolish such patterns.
Selected publications
Thoré, E., L. Brendonck, and T. Pinceel. Natural daily patterns in fish behaviour may confound results of ecotoxicological testing. Environmental Pollution, 2021, 276: 116738.
Thoré, E., C. Philippe, L. Brendonck, and T. Pinceel. Antidepressant exposure reduces body size, increases fecundity and alters social behaviour in the short-lived killifish Nothobranchius furzeri. Environmental Pollution, 2020, 265: 115068.
Fish husbandry and welfare
The bulk of our current scientific insight into the fundamental principles of life came from research on model organisms. Several fish models exist, and turquoise killifish was recently added to the list as a time- and cost-efficient vertebrate model for full life-cycle and multigenerational studies.
Public concern about the welfare of laboratory animals has increased in recent decades, and husbandry and experimental procedures should ensure minimal animal suffering and distress – for instance by providing enrichment to fish tanks. This comes with a need to understand how such procedures impact fish and is especially relevant for turquoise killifish, for which standardised husbandry protocols are currently being developed. Throughout my research to date, I have contributed to the development of such protocols and studied the behavioural norm of killifish – including how it is affected by laboratory housing.
Selected publications
Thoré, E., L. Brendonck, and T. Pinceel. Conspecific density and environmental complexity impact behaviour of turquoise killifish (Nothobranchius furzeri). Journal of Fish Biology, 2020, 97: 1448-1461.
Thoré, E., and W. Merckx. Substrate colour guides turquoise killifish’s (Nothobranchius furzeri) choice of preferred spawning habitat. Journal of Fish Biology, 2023, 1-8.
behaviour of temporary pond crustaceans
About 98% of all animal species are invertebrates. They often have biological attributes that are rare or even non-existent in vertebrates, and many of them combine a fast life-cycle with a high reproductive output which make them attractive study species. Like annual killifish, fairy shrimps are dominant competitors in temporary ponds where they play a key ecological role. So far, however, their behaviour remains poorly understood. To remedy this, part of my research is devoted to elucidating the behavioural diversity of fairy shrimps. Specifically, I aim to compile a behavioural baseline by studying how males and females differ in how they behave, and how behaviour relates to variation in morphology and life-history. In addition, I use fairy shrimps as models to study how neuroactive drugse affects freshwater crustaceans.
Selected publications
Thoré, E., L. Brendonck, and T. Pinceel. Neurochemical exposure disrupts sex-specific trade-offs between body length and behaviour in a freshwater crustacean. Aquatic Toxicology, 2021, 237: 105877.
TEMPORARY POND ECOLOGY
Temporary ponds harbour unique fauna and are crucial for biodiversity conservation. Both annual killifish and fairy shrimps inhabit temporary ponds and acquired specific adaptations to cope with the typical seasonality of these habitats. While a proper understanding of temporary pond functioning is essential to responsibly manage these systems, many questions remain. How does killifish predation affect the composition of temporary pond communities? How do large branchiopods and killifish co-occur? Can temporary pond residents anticipate forthcoming desication through phenotypic plasticity? To date, my research in this area involved controlled laboratory experiments, as well as mesocosm studies and field surveys in Karingani National Park (Mozambique).
Selected publications
Grégoir, A., E. Thoré, C. Philippe, T. Pinceel, L. Brendonck, and B. Vanschoenwinkel. Squeezing out the last egg—annual fish increase reproductive efforts in response to a predation threat. Ecology and Evolution, 2018, 8: 6390-6398.
Pinceel, T., B. Vanden Berghen, F. Buschke, A. Waterkeyn, I. da Costa Nerantzoulis, M. Rodrigues, E. Thoré, R. Burrough, E. Worth, and L. Brendonck. Co-occurrence of large branchiopods and killifish in African savannah ponds. Ecology, 2021, e03505.
microalgae in a circular bioeconomy
I enjoy seeking innovative solutions that promote sustainable development and minimise our impact on the environment. For example, I am studying how microalgae can boost sustainability in a circular economy context. The core of my research in this area is focused on bioremediation and recovering resources (nutrients, water) from various wastewaters to produce microalgae biomass and high-value compounds, both on lab and pilot scale. These products can then be valorised as feedstock for various applications, including as food/feed, biostimulants and bioplastics.
Selected publications
Thoré, E., F. Schoeters, A. De Cuyper, R. Vleugels, I. Noyens, P. Bleyen, and S. Van Miert. Waste is the new wealth – recovering resources from poultry wastewater for multifunctional microalgae feedstock. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 2021, 9: 679917.
Thoré, E., K. Muylaert, M. Bertram, and T. Brodin. Microalgae. Current Biology, 2023, 33: R91-R95.
Open Science
Lately, I have developed a strong interest in how we conduct and communicate science, including how a diverse range of methods, tools, platforms, and best practices can enhance the transparency, accessibility, and reliability of scientific research. Part of my recent work is dedicated to advancing the principles of “open science” both across disciplines and within the specialised field of (behavioural) eco(toxico)logy. Ultimately, I strive to contribute to the evolution of science as an open, inclusive, and accountable endeavour.
Selected publications
Bertram, M., J. Sundin, D. Roche, A. Sánchez-Tójar, E. Thoré, and T. Brodin. Open science. Current Biology, 2023, 33: R792-R797.
(Picture by Bertsy Goic of DrawInScience, as published in above paper.)