9th ECOTOX Network Symposium – Rennes, December 7–9, 2026

In 2026, the ECOTOX network is organizing its triennial seminar, an opportunity to revisit certain scientific questions or raise new ones to reflect on them together.

 Ambitions:

• Combine ecotoxicological approaches and open up new perspectives.
• Promote inter- and transdisciplinarity, particularly regarding the links between human health and ecosystem health, as well as pressure-impact relationships (contaminant dynamics and effects on organisms).
• Promote approaches aimed at improving the ecological and mechanistic relevance of risk assessment for toxic substances (modeling, predictive and comparative molecular approaches).

Session dedicated to copper and the environmental impact of its use in agriculture 

Wednesday, December 9, 9:00 AM – 12:30 PM 

Copper (Cu)—found in the copper-based fungicides used to protect crops (particularly grapevines) against downy mildew—is a fungicide that agriculture currently finds difficult to do without. Therefore, alongside the search for alternatives to copper, it is essential to accurately assess its impact on environmental health and the functioning of agricultural ecosystems (especially vineyards) at the realistic accumulation levels found in these settings. To date, there is a glaring lack of data regarding copper speciation in natural waters and its toxicity at realistic exposure levels for aquatic organisms and soil macro-organisms, as well as its impact on trophic interaction networks involving these communities and the consequences for the ecological functions they support. This session aims to foster a multidisciplinary discussion regarding copper: its use in crop protection, its dynamics in soil and water, its effects on soil-dwelling and aquatic organisms, and the resulting implications for the ecological functioning of soil and water systems. We welcome presentations on the environmental impact of copper-based fungicides—or, by extension, agricultural pesticides—provided the research aims to replicate reasonably realistic exposure scenarios.