Ecotoxicology is the scientific discipline that studies the fate and effects of chemical, physical, and biological stressors on organisms, populations, communities, and ecosystems in the environment. It integrates toxicology, ecology, environmental chemistry, and risk assessment to quantify exposure, dose–response relationships, and adverse outcome pathways under realistic environmental conditions. Ecotoxicology addresses contaminant transport, transformation, bioavailability, bioaccumulation, and biomagnification across trophic levels, and evaluates sublethal endpoints such as endocrine disruption, behavioral changes, and reproductive impairment. The field underpins environmental quality criteria, ecological risk assessment, and regulatory decision-making for pollutants including pesticides, metals, pharmaceuticals, and emerging contaminants.
There is a forever chemical lurking in the world's oceans that could be fundamentally altering the biology of marine life before it even hatches. PFOS, a notorious member of the PFAS family of chemicals, is known for its ...
Plants & Animals
May 29, 2026
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Municipalities and federal agencies monitor U.S. waters for microcystins, a toxin produced by harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie, but a University of Michigan study shows that the blooms produce a greater range of potentially ...
Environment
May 27, 2026
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Juvenile Chinook salmon in the Lower Fraser River estuary are feeding and growing in a slurry of contaminants from pharmaceuticals, personal care products to industrial chemicals, according to a new Simon Fraser University ...
Plants & Animals
May 20, 2026
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As much as 40 million metric tons of microplastics are released into the environment globally every year. These tiny pieces of plastic come from larger plastic items that break down or are shed by products such as clothing, ...
Environment
May 5, 2026
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Microplastics are now widely distributed throughout the environment—in water, in the air, in the soil and even inside living organisms, including marine life. However, most studies to date have focused on adult fish, including ...
Ecology
Apr 29, 2026
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The rise in infertility is not limited to humans, as environmental stressors are quietly undermining the reproductive potential of different forms of life. A recent review published in npj Emerging Contaminants investigated ...
"Dogs at Chernobyl are now genetically distinct … thanks to years of exposure to ionizing radiation, study finds."
Ecology
Apr 26, 2026
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59
Shrinking water levels at the Great Salt Lake are not just about Utah's water supply—they may pose a serious risk to public health. New research from a team at Utah State University and the University of Utah documents the ...
Environment
Apr 21, 2026
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An international study, led by researchers from Griffith University, the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, the Zoological Society of London and the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, is the first to demonstrate ...
Plants & Animals
Apr 20, 2026
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40
Researchers have found that a group of chemicals known as PFAS can be transferred from mother dolphins to their nursing calves, adding to the evidence that these persistent contaminants can be transferred from mothers to ...
Ecology
Apr 18, 2026
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