Community Ecotoxicology

Book excerpt: Ecotoxicology is the study of the effects of toxicants on ecological systems. Ecological effects of contaminants may occur at several levels of biological organisation, from individual organisms to the entire biosphere. Communities consist of interacting populations that overlap in time and space. Thus, community ecotoxicology is concerned with effects of contaminants on communities. This is one of a series of five books that will provide a comprehensive treatment of field ecotoxicology, it provides important insights into how contaminants affect the distribution and abundance of organisms in nature. * Both authors are well known highly respected scientists in the field. * The first book to be dedicated to 'community ecotoxicology.'