Ecotoxicology

assessment of the environmental consequences of a plan, policy, program, or actual projects prior to the decision to move forward with the proposed action

organic compound that resists environmental degradation

Bioaccumulation is the gradual accumulation of substances, such as pesticides or other chemicals, in an organism. Bioaccumulation occurs when an organism absorbs a substance faster than it can be lost or eliminated by catabolism and excretion. Thus, the longer the biological half-life of a toxic substance, the greater the risk of chronic poisoning, even if environmental levels of the toxin are not very high. Bioaccumulation, for example in fish, can be predicted by models. Hypothesis for molecular size cutoff criteria for use as bioaccumulation potential indicators are not supported by data. B

thumb|Caddisfly (order Trichoptera), a [[macroinvertebrate used as an indicator of water quality.]] A bioindicator is any species (an indicator species) or group of species whose function, population, or status can reveal the qualitative status of the environment. The most common indicator species are animals. For example, copepods and other small water crustaceans that are present in many water bodies can be monitored for changes (biochemical, physiological, or behavioural) that may indicate a problem within their ecosystem. Bioindicators can tell us about the cumulative effects of different

human-created waste that has deliberately or accidentally been released in a lake, sea, ocean or waterway

thumb|Biomagnification is a process causing the concentration of a substance (crosses) to increase at higher levels of the food chain. thumb|In this scenario, a pond has been contaminated with toxic waste. Further up the food chain, the concentration of the contaminant increases, sometimes resulting in the top consumer dying. Biomagnification, also known as bioamplification or biological magnification, is the increase in concentration of a substance in the tissues of organisms at successively higher levels in a food chain.

thumb|Ecotoxicity assay for [[microplastics in Daphnia magna]] Ecotoxicology is the study of the effects of toxic chemicals on biological organisms, especially at the population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere levels. Ecotoxicology is a multidisciplinary field, which integrates toxicology and ecology.

intervals in the Earth's past

low-oxygen areas in oceans and large lakes caused by nutrient and fertilizer pollution

Zearalenone (ZEN), also known as RAL and F-2 mycotoxin, is a potent estrogenic metabolite produced by some Fusarium and Gibberella species. Specifically, the Gibberella zeae, the fungal species where zearalenone was initially detected, in its asexual/anamorph stage is known as Fusarium graminearum. Several Fusarium species produce toxic substances of considerable concern to livestock and poultry producers, namely deoxynivalenol, T-2 toxin, HT-2 toxin, diacetoxyscirpenol (DAS) and zearalenone. Particularly, ZEN is produced by Fusarium graminearum, Fusarium culmorum, Fusarium cerealis, Fusarium

collective name for environmentally devastated WWI battlefields in northeast France

measure of lipophilicity and hydrophilicity

fibrous marine material