Development of ecocentric radiation protection: issues, challenges and approaches

Discussion centered around existing tools for radiation protection e.g. Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) analysis, biomarkers, use of microcosms and mesocosms and modeling approaches. These approaches were discussed with emphasis on identifying gaps, boundaries, and where leaps into the unknown might be beneficial. Identified challenges with biomarker and AOP approaches were that the individual level is generally addressed while interrelatedness of ecosystem components is difficult to capture. Novel ideas suggested were to construct multiple-stressor AOPs which capture key interactions and consider time as a critical component, or to exploit 'ecological network analysis' metrics which have been extensively used in ecological science. Other discussions centered on complexity and chaos modeling. The use of microcosms, focused field studies, and harnessing ecosystem information and communication systems were suggested to bridge the gap between individual and population-level responses.