Research

Research areas

(i)                  main field

Aquatic ecology, invertebrate biology, population biology, pollution, environmental risk assessment.

(ii)                 other fields

Natural geography, Geographical Information Systems (GIS), Hydrology.

(iii)      current research interests

A current focus of my research is the interactions between benthic infaunal organisms (sediment-dwellers) and pollution with hydrophobic organic- (e.g., fragrance material, oil constituents) and inorganic (e.g., metals, metal-nanoparticles) compounds in the aquatic environment. My research interests fall into four general areas:

• Effects of hydrophobic contaminants. Here I am interested in the extent to which sediment-associated contaminants are bioavailable and whether they pose a risk to benthic infauna at environmentally realistic concentrations. Historically, effects of pollution have emphasized surface water with focus on water-soluble substances because it is often assumed that sediments are sinks for organic- and inorganic contaminants. Thus, risk assessment has mostly been based on results extrapolated form singe-species laboratory water-only tests where individual-level endpoints have been measured. However, it has become clear that many deposit-feeding invertebrates take up sediment-associated contaminants.
• The role of uptake route for contaminant uptake, internal fate and elimination. This topic is a natural next step from the previous. My interest concerns the role of uptake route (i.e., from water over the outer body surface or from food/sediment-ingestion via uptake over the gut epitelium) for body burden, internal fate in the organisms, toxicity and elimination. tudies have shown that uptake route has a great influence on these factors in deposit-feeding organisms. Thus, the dependency of uptake, internal fate and elimination on exposure route (both for inorganic- and organic cont.), demonstrates the potential importance of these processes in controlling the fate and effects of contaminants in contaminated marine sediment.
• The role of benthic infauna for the fate of hydrophobic contaminants. Here I am interested in the role sediment-dwelling organisms play via their behaviour (bioturbation, feeding etc) and density (number of individuals) for the fate of sediment-associated contaminants in the aquatic sediment system (i.e., distribution among water, sediment and tissue). The persistence and fate of sediment-associated contaminants depend on a variety of factors including the density of the present organisms. Infaunal sediment dwellers represent a variety of feeding behaviours and life histories which all will manipulate and affect the surrounding environment in different ways. For example, some infaunal organisms burrow through sediment and obtain food from ingested sediment particles, a behaviour that may remobilize buried contaminants back into the feeding zone for shallower feeding organisms.
• Risk assessment of hydrophobic contaminants. In this respect, I include and combine information from the two previous research areas to assess to what extent effects of organic contaminants on individual level cause population-level changes. Not many studies have addressed how chemical stress effects at the individual-level relate to population dynamics, which is more directly related to the ecological protection targets. In theory, contaminant effects on individuals may not affect the population as a whole. Consequently, detecting individual-level effects may not be relevant for population persistence.

Education

• 2003.Completed Ph.D. degree, January. Interactions among contaminant exposure route, kinetics and toxicity in marine deposit-feeders.
• 1996. Master degree in Environmental Biology (2/12) and Geography from Roskilde University. Experimental work included during the master project in Environmental Biology (aquatic ecotoxicology) was performed at the National Environmental Research Institute, Roskilde, Denmark and University of Columbia, South Carolina, USA.
• 1996. One month research project (4/3-5/4) at University of Columbia, South Carolina, USA, with Alan W Decho. Resulting article ‘Effects of chronic metal exposure and sediment organic matter on digestive absorption efficiency of cadmium by the deposit-feeding polychaete Capitella sp. I'.
• 1994. Four month scientific research project (1/2-1/6) at National Environmental Research Institute with Thomas L Forbes.
• 1994. Bachelor in Environmental Biology from Roskilde University.

Previous Employment

• 2003. Assistant Professor, Roskilde University, Dept. of Life Sciences and Chemistry, Denmark. Examination of various aspects of the life history of the tropical freshwater snails, Marisa cornuarietis.
• 2002. Teacher at ‘naturvidenskabelig basisuddannelse', Roskilde University, Denmark.
• 2000. Project leader, 13 Marts - 13 May, Kristineberg Marine Research Station, Sweden. Interactions among infauna, microorganisms and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in marine sediments. The project was funded by the European Commission (LSF P.44).
• 1998. Ph.D. student at Roskilde University, Dept. of Life Sciences and Chemistry, Denmark.
• 1998. Research Assistant at Roskilde University. Examining imposex development in Hydrobia ventrosa collected in Risø bay, Roskilde, Denmark.
• 1997. Research assistant at Roskilde University and the National Environmental Research Institute; Evaluation of different extrapolation methods used in risk assessment of chemicals by extrapolating from laboratory single-species tests to ‘safe' levels (i.e. Predicted No-Effect Concentrations) in the aquatic ecosystem.
• 1997. Research assistant at Roskilde University; Investigations of osmotic stress in three sibling species (sp. I, M, S) of the complex formerly known as Capitella capitata after pre-exposure to a combination of oxygen and cadmium concentrations.

Grants, Honors & Awards

• 2008. Head of the Ph.D-school, GESS (Graduate school of environmental stress studies).
• 2006. Advisor for NATO. Member of the scientific evaluation board in the Environmental Security Panel in NATO.
• 2005. Co-applicant and Project Leader. 'Fate and effects of sediment-associated fragrance materials: the role of bioavailability, bioaccumulation, and biotransformation in sediment-dwelling invertebrates'; Funded by the Research Institute for Fragrance Materials (RIFM), USA.
• 2005. Co-applicant. ‘Centre for Integrated Population Ecology (CIPE)'; Funded by the Danish Natural Sciences Research Council.
• 2005. Short listed for the 2005 CEFIC-LRI Innovative science award.
• 2003. Co-applicant. ‘Husbandry of Marisa cornuarietis for use in endocrine testing'; Funded by American Chemistry Council.
• 2000. Grant from the European Commission (LSF P.44) to assess the Large Scale Facility at Kristineberg, Sweden.

Publications

• 2008. Pedersen S, Selck H, Salvito D, Forbes VE. Effects of the polycyclic musk HHCB on individual- and population-level endpoints in Potamopyrgus antipodarum. Online 23.12, Ecotoxicol Environ Saf.
• 2007. Forbes VE. Calow P, Selck H. Kemikalieregulering og miljørisikovurdeing under REACH. In 'Planlægning i teori og praksis - et tværfagligt perspektiv (eds. Jensen A, Andersen J, Hansen OE, Nielsen KA). Chapter 18: 349-363.
• 2007. Forbes VE, Selck H, Palmqvist A et al. Does bisphenol a induce superfeminization in Marisa cornuarietis? Part I: Intra- and inter-laboratory variability in test endpoints. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 66(3): 309-318.
• 2007. Granberg M & Selck H. Effects of sediment organic matter quality on bioaccumulation, degradation, and distribution of pyrene in two macrofaunal species and their surrounding sediment. Mar Env Res 64(3): 313-335.
• 2006. Selck H, Aufderheide J, Pounds N, Stables C, Caspers N & Forbes V. Effects of food type, feeding frequency, and temperature on juvenile survival and growth of Marisa cornuarietis (Mollusca: Gastropoda). Invert Biol 125: 106-116.
• 2005. Granberg M, Hansen R & Selck H. Relative importance of macrofaunal burrows for the microbial mineralization of pyrene in marine sediments: impact of macrofaunal species and organic matter quality. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 288: 59-74
• 2005. Selck H, Granberg M & Forbes VE. Impact of organic matter quality on fate and effects of fluoranthene in sediment inhabited by the brittle star Amphiura filiformis. Mar Environ Res 59: 19-45
• 2004. Selck H & Forbes VE. The relative importance of water and diet for uptake and subcellular distribution of cadmium in the deposit-feeding polychaete Capitella sp. I. Mar Environ Res 57: 261-279
• 2003. Palmqvist A, Selck H & Forbes VE. Biotransformation and genotoxicity of fluoranthene in the deposit-feeding polychaete, Capitella sp. I . Environ Toxicol Chem 22 (12): 2977-2985
• 2003. Selck H, Palmqvist A & Forbes VE. Uptake, depuration, and toxicity of dissolved and sediment-bound fluoranthene in the polychaete, Capitella sp. I. Environ Toxicol Chem 22 (10): 2354-2363
• 2003. Selck H, Palmqvist A & Forbes VE. Biotransformation of dissolved and sediment-bound fluoranthene in the polychaete, Capitella sp. I. Environ Toxicol Chem 22 (10): 2364-2374
• 2002. Selck H, Riemann B, Christoffersen K, Forbes VE, Gustavson K, Hansen BW, Jacobsen JA, Kusk OK & Petersen S. Comparing sensitivity of ecotoxicological effect endpoints between laboratory and field. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 52: 97-112.
• 1999. Selck H, Decho AW & Forbes VE. Effects of chronic metal exposure and sediment organic matter on digestive absorption efficiency of cadmium by the deposit-feeding polychaete Capitella sp.I. Env Tox Chem 18(6): 1289-1297.
• 1998. Selck H, Forbes VE & Forbes TL. Toxicity and toxicokinetics of cadmium in Capitella sp. I: relative importance of water and sediment as routes of cadmium uptake. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 164: 167-178.

Conferences, workshops etc.

• 2008. Presentation at ‘29^th Annual Meeting of SETAC North America, 16-20 Nov., Tampa, FL, USA. Title: Importance of food variation in assessing individual- and population-level effects of contaminated sediments.
• 2007. Presentation at ‘17^th Annual Meeting of SETAC Europe., 20-24 May, Porto, Portugal. Title: Importance of food variation in extrapolating individual- to population-level effects of contaminated sediments.
• 2006. Presentation at ‘‘16^th Annual Meeting of SETAC Europe', 7-11 May, The Hague, The Netherlands. Title: How macrofauna and microbes interact to affect effects of sediment-associated fragrance material.
• 2005. Invited speaker at the GESS (Graduate school of environmental stress studies) workshop ‘Searching for research funding: tips, tricks and networking', 21-23 January, Søminestationen, Holbæk, Denmark. Title: Fondsansøgning - knald eller fald?
• 2005. Presentation at ‘‘15^th Annual Meeting of SETAC Europe', 22 - 26 May, Lille, France. Title: Sediment associated fragrance materials: effects on sediment dwelling organisms?
• 2005. Presentation at ‘‘15^th Annual Meeting of SETAC Europe', 22 - 26 May, Lille, France. Title: Detecting endocrine disruption in the gastropod Marisa cornuarietis - critical baseline information on life-cycle traits.
• 2003. Presentation at ‘13^th Annual Meeting of SETAC Europe', 27 April-1 May, Hamburg, Germany. Title: Comparing bioavailability and biotransformation of sediment-associated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in a polychaete and an echinoderm.
• 2003. Presentation at ‘13^th Annual Meeting of SETAC Europe', 27 April-1 May, Hamburg, Germany. Title: Effect of benthic organisms (a polychaete and an echinoderm) on sediment-associated polycyclic aromatic carbon.
• 2003. Presentation at ‘Workshop i økotoksikologi', 20-21 November, Holbæk, Denmark. Title: Fra forskning over risikovurdering til lovgivning.
• 2002. Presentation at ‘12. Danske Havforskermøde', 9-11 January, Aahus, Denmark.
• 2002. Presentation at ‘12^th Annual Meeting of SETAC Europe', 12-16 May, Vienna, Austria. Title: Does exposure route influence bioavailability, toxicity and metabolism of fluoranthene in Capitella sp. I?
• 2001. Participation in Ph.D. course ‘Toxicological and ecotoxicological risk assessment', 25 May - 1 June, Roskilde University, Roskilde, Denmark.
• 2001. Presentation at ‘SETAC Europe Conference organic soil contaminants 2001', 2-5 September, Copenhagen, Denmark. Title: Does organic matter quality influence bioavailability, toxicity and metabolism of fluoranthene in Amphiura filiformis'.
• 2000. Presentation at the NORFA workshop concerning ‘Environmental Stress and genetic adaptation'. Title: The dilemma of a deposit-feeder - A conflict between feeding strategy and toxicant absorption. NORFA workshop Erken Limnological Station. 25-29 October, Uppsala, Sweden.
• 2000. Presentation at ‘3^rd SETAC World congress' ‘10^th Annual Meeting of SETAC Europe', 21-25 May, Brighton, United Kingdom. Interactions between organic matter quality and bioavailability of hydrophobic contaminants.
• 2000. Presentation at '11. Danske havforskermøde', January, Roskilde University, Denmark.
• 1999. Participation in the Ph.D. course ‘ecotoxicology of Boreal Lakes', 13-23 June, University of Joensuu, Joensuu, Finland.
• 1999. Presentation at ‘9^th Annual Meeting of SETAC-Europe', 25-29 May, Leipzig, Germany. The importance of uptake route for the bioavailability, kinetics and toxicity of cadmium.
• 1999. Participation in a workshop concerning ‘Pollution in the North Sea: Assessment, Prevention and Control'. 6-8 Marts, Nibe, Denmark.
• 1998. Presentation at '8^th Annual Meeting of SETAC-Europe', 14-18 April, Bordeaux, France. Cadmium bioavailability - a matter of chronic metal exposure and organic coating on sediment particles?
• 1998. Presentations at '10. Danske Havforskermøde'. 21-23 January. Hirtshals, Denmark. (Oral) Volume regulation in Capitella species I in response to a combination of osmotic-, oxygen- and cadmium stress. (Poster) Do contaminants affect pelagic ecosystems? A matter of test parameter employed!
• 1997. Presentation at 'SETAC 18^th Annual Meeting', 16-20 November, San Francisco, USA. The role of chronic metal exposure and sediment organic matter for the bioavailability of cadmium.
• 1997. Presentation at the conference, ‘Studying Stress in Ecological Systems: Pure and Applied Perspectives'. 21-24 June. Roskilde, Denmark. Stress response to dissolved and sediment-associated cadmium in the deposit-feeding polychaete Capitella sp. I.
• 1997. Presentation at ‘Seventh Annual Meeting of SETAC-Europe'. 6-10 April, Amsterdam, Holland. The relative importance of water and sediment as routes of cadmium uptake to the deposit-feeding polychaete Capitella sp. I.
• 1996. Presentation at ‘24^th Annual Benthic Ecology Meeting'. 7-10 Marts, South Carolina, USA. The effect of cadmium on growth rate in Capitella sp. I.
• 1996. Presentation at ‘9. Danske Havforskermøde'. 16-18 January, DTU, Lyngby, Denmark. The effect of cadmium in the infaunal polychaete Capitella specie I under starvation and growth respectively.
• 1995. Presentation at ‘Fifth SETAC-Europe Con­gress'. 25-28 June, Copenhagen, Denmark. The effect of cadmium on growth and starvation rate in the infaunal polychaete Capitella species I.
• 1994. Participation in First International Symposium on Sediment Quality Assessment: Rationale, Challenges and Strategies. 22-25 August, Göteborg, Sweden.

Teaching

Teaching

• 2008. Lecturer at the course ‘Ecotoxicology 1 - Principles and Practices.
• 2008. Supervisor of the Master's Project in Environmental Biology: Project title: ‘The effect of the marine polychaete Capitella sp. I for the fate of sediment-associated fragrances: the role of biotransformation' (started 2008).
• 2007. Lecturer at the course ‘Ecotoxicology 1 - Principles and Practices.
• 2007. Lecturer at the course ‘Bio B - NIB'
• 2007. Supervisor of Master's Project in Environmental Biology: Project title: ‘Interactions between microbes and macrofauna for the degradation of sediment-associated fragrance materials'
• 2007. Supervisor of a NIB basis project: Project title: ‘Possible biotransformation of the fragrance material, Acetyl cedrene, by the deposit-feeder, Capitella sp. I'.
• 2006. Supervisor of a combined 1 & 2 modul Project in Environmental Biology: Project title: ‘Risk assessment of the fragrance material, Acetyl cedrene, in the aquatic environment'.
• 2006. Supervisor of Master's Project in Environmental Biology: Project title: ‘Fragrance materials - effects on sediment dwelling organisms' (finished in 2007).
• 2006. Co-supervisor of Master's Project in Environmental Biology: Project title: ‘the effect of the fragrance material, HHCB, on key life-cycle parameters in the deposit-feeding polychaete, Capitella sp. I' (finished in 2007).
• 2006. Lecture at the course ‘Ecotoxicology 1 - Principles and Practice'. Title: ‘Risk assessment - a practical approach'
• 2005. Lecture at the course ‘Ecotoxicology 1 - Principles and Practice'. Title: ‘Risk assessment - a practical approach'
• 2004. Lecture at the course ‘Ecotoxicology 1 - Principles and Practice'. Title: ‘Risk assessment - a practical approach'
• 2002. Lecture at the course ‘BioC - Functional biology and evolution'
• 2001. Supervisor for two experimental projects in the 4^th semester, Natural Sciences Basic Studies Programme, Roskilde Universitetscenter, Denmark.
• 2000. Supervisor of Master's Project in Environmental Biology: Project title: 'Eksponeringsvejenes betydning for cadmiums toksicitet og toksikokinetik hos Amphiura filiformis' (Graduated September 2001).
• 2000. Supervisor in Environmental Biology, module 2. Projekt title: 'The toxic effect and toxicokinetics of cadmium in the infaunal brittle star Amphiura filiformis (Ophiuroidea; Enchinodermata)'
• 2000. Guest lecture for Denmark's International Studies course on ‘Ecology and Human Impact in the North and Baltic Seas', Roskilde University, Denmark. Title: Risk assessment & Bioavailability of metals to aquatic invertebrates.
• 2000. Teacher of Isotope Course, 16 February, Roskilde University, Denmark.
• 1999. Teaching assistant for the course ‘Bio C', spring & autumn semesters, Roskilde University, Denmark.
• 1999. Guest lecture for Denmark's International Studies course ‘Ecology and Human Impact in the North and Baltic Seas', Roskilde University, Denmark. Title: Risk assessment & Bioavailability of metals to aquatic invertebrates.