Ecotoxicology: The Challenges for the 21st Century
The usual procedures for ecological risk assessment (ERA) have been based for decades on simplified approaches in order to provide basic information on the huge amount of chemicals introduced into the environment. These approaches allowed the development of international regulatory tools capable of...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2013-11-01
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| Series: | Toxics |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.mdpi.com/2305-6304/1/1/18 |
| _version_ | 1818608126618763264 |
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| author | Marco Vighi Sara Villa |
| author_facet | Marco Vighi Sara Villa |
| author_sort | Marco Vighi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The usual procedures for ecological risk assessment (ERA) have been based for decades on simplified approaches in order to provide basic information on the huge amount of chemicals introduced into the environment. These approaches allowed the development of international regulatory tools capable of substantially reducing the adverse effects on ecosystems in developed countries. Nevertheless, these approaches suffer from a lack of ecological realism and are poorly suitable for understanding the actual consequences for ecosystem health. The need for more ecologically-based approaches is now recognized by the scientific community and has been highlighted by a recent document of the European Commission. In this paper, a synthesis is presented of the most important issues and the need for research to improve the ecological realism of exposure and effect assessment and the tools that should be developed to reach this objective. In particular, the major challenges are the following: the effects of variable exposure patterns; the vulnerability of ecosystems; the indirect ecological effects; the responses to multiple stress factors; the improvement of ecological modeling. The possibilities for using new scientific achievements in regulatory ERA are also discussed. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-16T14:37:41Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a9f8e04c12194b149941fd56a98c00e5 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2305-6304 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-16T14:37:41Z |
| publishDate | 2013-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Toxics |
| spelling | doaj.art-a9f8e04c12194b149941fd56a98c00e52022-12-21T22:28:03ZengMDPI AGToxics2305-63042013-11-0111183510.3390/toxics1010018toxics1010018Ecotoxicology: The Challenges for the 21st CenturyMarco Vighi0Sara Villa1Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences (DISAT), University of Milano Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza, 1, Milano 20126, ItalyDepartment of Earth and Environmental Sciences (DISAT), University of Milano Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza, 1, Milano 20126, ItalyThe usual procedures for ecological risk assessment (ERA) have been based for decades on simplified approaches in order to provide basic information on the huge amount of chemicals introduced into the environment. These approaches allowed the development of international regulatory tools capable of substantially reducing the adverse effects on ecosystems in developed countries. Nevertheless, these approaches suffer from a lack of ecological realism and are poorly suitable for understanding the actual consequences for ecosystem health. The need for more ecologically-based approaches is now recognized by the scientific community and has been highlighted by a recent document of the European Commission. In this paper, a synthesis is presented of the most important issues and the need for research to improve the ecological realism of exposure and effect assessment and the tools that should be developed to reach this objective. In particular, the major challenges are the following: the effects of variable exposure patterns; the vulnerability of ecosystems; the indirect ecological effects; the responses to multiple stress factors; the improvement of ecological modeling. The possibilities for using new scientific achievements in regulatory ERA are also discussed.http://www.mdpi.com/2305-6304/1/1/18ecotoxicologyecological risk assessmentexposure assessmenteffect assessmentecological modelingEuropean Commission |
| spellingShingle | Marco Vighi Sara Villa Ecotoxicology: The Challenges for the 21st Century Toxics ecotoxicology ecological risk assessment exposure assessment effect assessment ecological modeling European Commission |
| title | Ecotoxicology: The Challenges for the 21st Century |
| title_full | Ecotoxicology: The Challenges for the 21st Century |
| title_fullStr | Ecotoxicology: The Challenges for the 21st Century |
| title_full_unstemmed | Ecotoxicology: The Challenges for the 21st Century |
| title_short | Ecotoxicology: The Challenges for the 21st Century |
| title_sort | ecotoxicology the challenges for the 21st century |
| topic | ecotoxicology ecological risk assessment exposure assessment effect assessment ecological modeling European Commission |
| url | http://www.mdpi.com/2305-6304/1/1/18 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT marcovighi ecotoxicologythechallengesforthe21stcentury AT saravilla ecotoxicologythechallengesforthe21stcentury |