Ecotoxicology: A Comprehensive Treatment
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Summary
Integrating ecotoxicological concepts across a range of hierarchical levels, Ecotoxicology: A Comprehensive Treatment focuses on the paradigms and fundamental themes of ecotoxicology while providing the detail and practical application of concepts often found in more specialized books. By synthesizing the best qualities of a general textbook and the narrower, more specific scope of a technical reference, the authors create a volume flexible enough to cover a variety of instructional vantages and thorough enough to engender a respect for the importance of understanding and integrating concepts from all levels of biological organization.
Divided into six sections, the book builds progressively from the biomolecular level toward a discussion of effects on the global biosphere. It begins with the fundamentals of hierarchical ecotoxicology and vantages for exploring ecotoxicological issues. The second section introduces organismal ecotoxicology and examines effects to biochemicals, cells, organs, organ systems, and whole organisms, and bioaccumulation and bioavailability of contaminants. Population ecotoxicology, section three, places the discussion in the larger context of entire populations by analyzing epidemiology, population dynamics, demographics, genetics, and natural selection.
Section four encompasses issues of community ecotoxicology. This section presents biotic and abiotic factors influencing communities, biomonitoring and community response, and the application of multimetric and multivariate approaches. Section five evaluates the entire ecosystem by describing assessment approaches, identifying patterns, analyzing relationships between species, and reviewing the effects of global atmospheric stressors. A detailed conclusion integrating the concepts discussed and promoting a balanced assessment of the overarching paradigms rounds out the coverage in section six.
Table of Contents
Contents
Hierarchical Ecotoxicology
The Hierarchical Science of Ecotoxicology
An Overarching Context of Hierarchical Ecotoxicology
Reductionism vs. Holism Debate
Requirements in the Science of Ecotoxicology
Organismal Ecotoxicology
The Organismal Ecotoxicology Context
Organismal Ecotoxicology Defined
The Value of the Organismal Ecotoxicology Vantage
Biochemistry of Toxicants
DNA Modification
Detoxification of Organic Compounds
Metal Detoxification, Regulation, and Sequestration
Stress Proteins and Proteotoxicity
Oxidative Stress
Enzyme Dysfunction
Heme Biosynthesis Inhibition
Oxidative Phosphorylation Inhibition
Narcosis
Cells and Tissues
Cytotoxicity
Genotoxicity
Cancer
Sequestration and Accumulation
Organs and Organ Systems
General Integument
Organs Associated with Gas Exchange
Circulatory System
Digestive System
Liver and Analogous Organs of Invertebrates
Excretory Organs
Immune System
Endocrine System
Nervous, Sensory, and Motor-Related Organs and Systems
Physiology
Ionic and Osmotic Regulation
Acid–Base Regulation
Respiration and General Metabolism
Bioenergetics
Plant-Related Processes
Bioaccumulation
Uptake
Biotransformation
Elimination
Models of Bioaccumulation and Bioavailability
Bioaccumulation
Bioavailability
Lethal Effects
Quantifying Lethality
Lethality Prediction
Sublethal Effects
General Categories of Effects
Quantifying Sublethal Effects
Conclusion
General
Some Particularly Key Concepts
Concluding Remarks
Population Ecotoxicology
The Population Ecotoxicology Context
Population Ecotoxicology Defined
The Need for Population Ecotoxicology
Inferences within and between Biological Levels
Epidemiology: The Study of Disease in Populations
Foundation Concepts and Metrics in Epidemiology
Disease Association and Causation
Infectious Disease and Toxicant-Exposed Populations
Differences in Sensitivity within and among Populations
Toxicants and Simple Population Models
Toxicants Effects on Population Size and Dynamics
Fundamentals of Population Dynamics
Population Stability
Spatial Distributions of Individuals in Populations
Toxicants and Population Demographics
Demography: Adding Individual Heterogeneity to Population Models
Matrix Forms of Demographic Models
Phenogenetics of Exposed Populations
Toxicants and the Principle of Allocation (Concept of Strategy)
Developmental Stability in Populations
Population Genetics: Damage and Stochastic Dynamics of the Germ Line
Direct Damage to the Germ Line
Indirect Change to the Germ Line
Genetic Diversity and Evolutionary Potential
Population Genetics: Natural Selection
Overview of Natural Selection
Estimating Differential Fitness and Natural Selection
Ecotoxicology’s Tradition of Tolerance
Conclusion
Overview
Some Particularly Key Concepts
Concluding Remarks
Community Ecotoxicology
Introduction to Community Ecotoxicology
Definitions—Community Ecology and Ecotoxicology
Historical Perspective of Community Ecology and Ecotoxicology
Are Communities More Than the Sum of Individual Populations?
Communities within the Hierarchy of Biological Organization
Contemporary Topics in Community Ecotoxicology
Biotic and Abiotic Factors that Regulate Communities
Characterizing Community Structure and Organization
Changes in Species Diversity and Composition along Environmental Gradients
The Role of Keystone Species in Community Regulation
The Role of Species Interactions in Community Ecology and Ecotoxicology
Environmental Factors and Species Interactions
Biomonitoring and the Responses of Communities to Contaminants
Biomonitoring and Biological Integrity
Conventional Approaches
Biomonitoring and Community-Level Assessments
Development and Application of Rapid Bioassessment Protocols
Regional Reference Conditions
Integrated Assessments of Biological Integrity
Limitations of Biomonitoring
Experimental Approaches in Community Ecology and Ecotoxicology
Experimental Approaches in Basic Community Ecology
Experimental Approaches in Community Ecotoxicology
Microcosms and Mesocosms
Whole Ecosystem Manipulations
What is the Appropriate Experimental Approach for Community Ecotoxicology?
Application of Multimetric and Multivariate Approaches in Community Ecotoxicology
Multimetric
Multivariate Approaches
Disturbance Ecology and the Responses of Communities to Contaminants
The Importance of Disturbance in Structuring Communities
Community Stability and Species Diversity
Relationship between Natural and Anthropogenic Disturbance
Contemporary Hypotheses to Explain Community Responses to Anthropogenic Disturbance
Biotic and Abiotic Factors that Influence Community Recovery
Influence of Environmental Variability on Resistance and Resilience
Quantifying the Effects of Compound Perturbations
Community Responses to Global and Atmospheric Stressors
CO2 and Climate Change
Stratospheric Ozone Depletion
Acid Deposition
Interactions among Global Atmospheric Stressors
Effects of Contaminants on Trophic Structure and FoodWebs
Basic Principles of FoodWeb Ecology
Effects of Contaminants on Food Chains and FoodWeb Structure
Conclusions
General
Some Particularly Key Concepts
Ecosystem Ecotoxicology
Introduction to Ecosystem Ecology and Ecotoxicology
Background and Definitions
Ecosystem Ecology and Ecotoxicology: A Historical Context
Challenges to the Study of Whole Systems
The Role of Ecosystem Theory
Recent Developments in Ecosystem Science
Ecosytem Ecotoxicology
Links from Community to Ecosystem Ecotoxicology
Overview of Ecosystem Processes
Bioenergetics and Energy Flow through Ecosytems
Nutrient Cycling and Materials Flow through Ecosystems
Decomposition and Organic Matter Processing
Descriptive Approaches for Assessing Ecosystem Responses to Contaminants
Descriptive Approaches in Aquatic Ecosystems
Terrestrial Ecosystems
The Use of Microcosms, Mesocosms, and Field Experiments to Assess Ecosystem Responses to Contaminants and Other Stressors
Microcosm and Mesocosm Experiments
Whole Ecosystem Experiments
Patterns and Processes: The Relationship between Species Diversity and Ecosystem Function
Species Diversity and Ecosystem Function
The Relationship between Ecosystem Function and Ecosystem Services
Future Research Directions and Implications of the Diversity–Ecosystem Function Relationship for Ecotoxicology
Ecological Thresholds and the Diversity–Ecosystem Function Relationship
Fate and Transport of Contaminants in Ecosystems
Bioconcentration, Bioaccumulation, Biomagnification, and Food Chain Transfer
Modeling Contaminant Movement in FoodWebs
Ecological Influences on Food Chain Transport of Contaminants
Effects of Global Atmospheric Stressors on Ecosystem Processes
Nitrogen Deposition and Acidification
Ultraviolet Radiation
Increased CO2 and Global Climate Change
Interactions among Global Atmospheric Stressors
Ecotoxicology: A Comprehensive Treatment—Conclusion
Conclusion
Overarching Issues
Summary: Sapere Aude
Index
Editorial Reviews
"The book is simply the best that I have encountered in providing an integrative presentation of the vast amount of knowledge required to practice ecotoxicology. Moreover, the authors go to great lengths to provide both (1) an historic background of the evolution of the science to date and (2) comments, suggestions, and predictions on how the science will continue to evolve. ... The book is extremely well written.. In summary, it is - in my opinion - the definitive book to date on the complex and emerging science of ecotoxicology."
— A. Russell Flegal, Department of Environmental Toxicology, University of California for The Limnology and Oceanography Bulletin Volume 17 (2) June 2008
"The result is a book, highly informative, rich in details that are integrated as much as currently possible in the new science of ecotoxicology and, in summary, very pleasant to read. A milestone in the field . . ."
– J. Abaigés, CID-CSIC, in International Journal of Environmental Analytical Chemistry, April 2008, Vol. 88, No. 5
"I have only scratched the surface of this impressive book but suffice it to say, it is well written and to the extent I can evaluate its content is exceedingly well done."
– Gary F. Bennett, Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Toledo, in Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2008, Vol. 160
"This is the most conceptual and philosophical text available for ecotoxicology . . . The obvious virtue of this book is that it encourages the reader to think about fundamental issues and assumptions in the science of ecotoxicology. Many of the ideas that they pronounced would be worth discussing among practicing environmental scientists as well as in the classroom."
– Glenn Suter, SETAC Reviews Editor, in Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management, 2008, Vol. 4, No. 4
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