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.
Queensland scientists have pioneered a new method to assess the long-term risks posed by toxicants such as insecticides in rivers and the ocean.
Ecology
Jun 23, 2025
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Several hundred thousand chemicals are considered as potentially environmentally relevant. Scientists from the RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau in Germany show that monitoring data for surface waters are only available for a very ...
Environment
Jun 19, 2025
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Negotiations toward a global, legally binding plastics treaty are set to resume this summer, with the United Nations Environment Programme announcing that the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on plastic pollution will ...
Environment
Jun 18, 2025
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While laws to limit pollution have been around for decades, heavy metal pollutants like lead remain a problem in many areas. Lead and other metals in the soil or air can move through urban ecosystems, impacting the health ...
Environment
May 20, 2025
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Millions of kilometers of rivers around the world are carrying antibiotic pollution at levels high enough to promote drug resistance and harm aquatic life, a McGill University-led study warns.
Environment
May 11, 2025
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201
Up to 17% of cropland worldwide is contaminated with at least one type of toxic heavy metal, posing health risks to up to 1.4 billion people, scientists warned Thursday.
Environment
Apr 18, 2025
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137
In 1962, when environmentalist and author Rachel Carson penned "Silent Spring," alerting the world to the dangers of the pesticide DDT, it was the reproductive threat to birds—the bald eagle in particular—that spurred ...
Environment
Apr 10, 2025
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98
Lead, pesticides, brominated flame retardants, plastic additives, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and heavy metals. This is what researchers at Lund University in Sweden found in a new study when they collected dead hedgehogs ...
Environment
Apr 1, 2025
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Scientists at the University of Lausanne (UNIL) and University center Unisanté classified 35 commonly used drugs in Switzerland based on their impact on the aquatic biodiversity. The aim of this research is to provide medical ...
Environment
Apr 1, 2025
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Ecuador battled a spreading oil slick Tuesday that has reached several rivers after a spill left thousands without drinking water and triggered the declaration of an environmental emergency.
Environment
Mar 18, 2025
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