How can environmental regulators use information on 48-hour toxicity tests to predict the effects of a few minutes of pollution? Or, at the other extreme, what is the relevance of 96-hour toxicity data for organisms that may have been exposed to a pollutant for six months or more? Time to event methods are the key to answering these types of questions. Risk Assessment with Time to Event Models is the first comprehensive treatment of these methods in the context of ecological risk assessment. Leading experts from industry, academia, and government regulatory agencies explain how these methods can be used to extract more useful information from laboratory data than is present in simple summary statistics like 48-h LC50. The book offers a clear introduction to the field through several approaches, from the introductory to the more mathematical. Risk Assessment with Time to Event Models demonstrates the relevance of time in the analysis and reporting of toxicity data through the use of practical examples from the field of environmental toxicology. It also incorporates helpful analogies from other disciplines that commonly use time to event modeling.

Fundamental QSARs for Metal Ions describes the basic and essential applications of quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSARs) for regulatory or industrial scientists who need to predict metal ion bioactivity. It includes 194 QSARs that have been used to predict metal ion toxicity and 86 QSARs that have been used to predict metal ion bioconcentration, biosorption, and binding. It is an excellent sourcebook for academic, industrial, and government scientists and policy makers, and provides a wealth of information on the biological and chemical activities of metal ions as they impact health and the environment. Fundamental QSARs for Metal Ions was designed for regulatory and regulated organizations that need to use QSARs to predict metal ion bioactivity, as they now do for organic chemicals. It has the potential to eliminate resources to test the toxicity of metal ions or to promulgate regulations that require toxicity testing of metal ions because the book illustrates how to construct QSARs to predict metal ion toxicity. In addition, the book: Provides a historical perspective and introduction to developing QSARs for metal ions Explains the electronic structures and atomic parameters of metals essential to understanding differences in chemical properties that influence cation toxicity, bioconcentration, biosorption, and binding Describes the chemical properties of metals that are used to develop QSARs for metal ions Illustrates the descriptors needed to develop metal ion-ligand binding QSARs Discusses 280 QSARs for metal ions Explains the differences between QSARs for metal ions and Biotic Ligand Models Lists the regulatory limits of metals and provides examples of regulatory applications Illustrates how to construct QSARs for metal ions Dr. John D. Walker is the winner of the 2013 SETAC Government Service Award.

How does mercury get out of the ground and into our food? Is tuna safe to eat? What was the Minamata Disaster? Mercury Pollution: A Transdisciplinary Treatment addresses these questions and more. The editors weave interdisciplinary threads into a tapestry that presents a more complete picture of the effects of mercury pollution and provides new ways to think about the environment. The remarkable features that make mercury so useful-and poisonous-have given rise to many stories laid out in rich objective detail, carefully detailing medical, epidemiological, or historical insight, but sidestepping the human experience. A technically rich book that only touches on the human consequences of mercury poisoning cannot fully portray the anguish, confusion, and painful deaths that are the consequence of mercury pollution. Therefore, the editors purposely step out of the conventional scientific framework for discussing mercury pollution to explore the wider human experience. This book clarifies how we are all connected to mercury, how we absorb it through the food we eat and the air we breathe, and how we release it as a consequence of our new technologies. It tackles interesting environmental issues without being overly technical and uses mercury as a case study and model for studying environmental problems. The book uses discussions of the issues surrounding mercury pollution to illustrate how an interdisciplinary vantage is necessary to solve environmental problems. Read an article in the SETAC Globe by Michael C. Newman and Sharon L. Zuber at http://www.setac.org/globe/2011/november/mercury-pollution.html

Quantitative Ecotoxicology, Second Edition explores models and methods of quantitative ecotoxicology at progressively higher biological scales using worked examples and common software packages. It complements the author's previous books, Fundamentals of Ecotoxicology, Third Edition and Ecotoxicology: A Comprehensive Treatment. Encouraging a more rigorous inferential approach to research, the book examines the quantitative features of the science of ecotoxicology. The first chapters lay the foundation by introducing fundamental concepts and definitions. The author traces the historical perspective, rationale, and characteristics of scientific ecotoxicology as well as the general measurement process. He also considers methodologies for defining and controlling variance, which could otherwise exclude valid conclusions from ecotoxicological endeavors. The book then discusses ecotoxicological concepts at increasing levels of ecological organization and outlines quantitative methods used to measure toxicant accumulation and effects. Reflecting the importance of establishing type I and type II error rates, it highlights design issues, particularly sample size and power estimation. The final chapter summarizes the book with a brief discussion of ecotoxicology from a nonregulatory perspective. Extensively updated, this second edition has been expanded to include terrestrial as well as aquatic ecotoxicology. Requiring only a basic knowledge of statistics, this highly readable book is suitable for graduate students and researchers as well as practicing environmental scientists and engineers. It guides readers to better understand the fate and effects of toxicants in the biosphere-and helps them frame this understanding in quantitative terms. What's New in This Edition More than 40 new figures and 20 new worked examples Updated measurement quality methods and software Expanded coverage of synecological models and methods More integration of Bayesian concepts Appendices for power analysis and basic matrix methods Additional mixture toxicity and up-and-down methods Greatly expanded discussion of significance testing Expanded discussion of metapopulations Matrix tools for population demography Light isotope-based models for trophic transfer of toxicants Inclusion of metacommunity and SHE analysis techniques R script examples by Eduard Szoecs (University Koblenz-Landau) available at http://edild.github.io/blog/categories/quantitative-ecotoxicology-with-r/

How does mercury get out of the ground and into our food? Is tuna safe to eat? What was the Minamata Disaster? Mercury Pollution: A Transdisciplinary Treatment addresses these questions and more. The editors weave interdisciplinary threads into a tapestry that presents a more complete picture of the effects of mercury pollution and provides new ways to think about the environment. The remarkable features that make mercury so useful-and poisonous-have given rise to many stories laid out in rich objective detail, carefully detailing medical, epidemiological, or historical insight, but sidestepping the human experience. A technically rich book that only touches on the human consequences of mercury poisoning cannot fully portray the anguish, confusion, and painful deaths that are the consequence of mercury pollution. Therefore, the editors purposely step out of the conventional scientific framework for discussing mercury pollution to explore the wider human experience. This book clarifies how we are all connected to mercury, how we absorb it through the food we eat and the air we breathe, and how we release it as a consequence of our new technologies. It tackles interesting environmental issues without being overly technical and uses mercury as a case study and model for studying environmental problems. The book uses discussions of the issues surrounding mercury pollution to illustrate how an interdisciplinary vantage is necessary to solve environmental problems. Read an article in the SETAC Globe by Michael C. Newman and Sharon L. Zuber at http://www.setac.org/globe/2011/november/mercury-pollution.html

This book provides an in-depth discussion of various aspects of metal ecotoxicology. State-of-the-art information and techniques in areas ranging from metal behavior in surface waters to bioaccumulation kinetics and toxicokinetics to community effects are presented in a hierarchical arrangement. Specific topics discussed include metals in abiotic components of ecosystems, autecology (effects of metals relative to the individual or a single species), and metals in marine and freshwater systems in the context of synecology (species associated and interacting as a unit). This is an important book that will be useful to researchers, risk assessment consultants, regulatory personnel, and teachers and students.

Integrating ecotoxicological concepts across a range of hierarchical levels, Ecotoxicology: A Comprehensive Treatment focuses on the paradigms and fundamental themes of ecotoxicology while providing the detail and practical application of concepts often found in more specialized books. By synthesizing the best qualities of a general textbook and the narrower, more specific scope of a technical reference, the authors create a volume flexible enough to cover a variety of instructional vantages and thorough enough to engender a respect for the importance of understanding and integrating concepts from all levels of biological organization. Divided into six sections, the book builds progressively from the biomolecular level toward a discussion of effects on the global biosphere. It begins with the fundamentals of hierarchical ecotoxicology and vantages for exploring ecotoxicological issues. The second section introduces organismal ecotoxicology and examines effects to biochemicals, cells, organs, organ systems, and whole organisms, and bioaccumulation and bioavailability of contaminants. Population ecotoxicology, section three, places the discussion in the larger context of entire populations by analyzing epidemiology, population dynamics, demographics, genetics, and natural selection. Section four encompasses issues of community ecotoxicology. This section presents biotic and abiotic factors influencing communities, biomonitoring and community response, and the application of multimetric and multivariate approaches. Section five evaluates the entire ecosystem by describing assessment approaches, identifying patterns, analyzing relationships between species, and reviewing the effects of global atmospheric stressors. A detailed conclusion integrating the concepts discussed and promoting a balanced assessment of the overarching paradigms rounds out the coverage in section six.

How can environmental regulators use information on 48-hour toxicity tests to predict the effects of a few minutes of pollution? Or, at the other extreme, what is the relevance of 96-hour toxicity data for organisms that may have been exposed to a pollutant for six months or more? Time to event methods are the key to answering these types of questions.

Risk Assessment with Time to Event Models is the first comprehensive treatment of these methods in the context of ecological risk assessment. Leading experts from industry, academia, and government regulatory agencies explain how these methods can be used to extract more useful information from laboratory data than is present in simple summary statistics like 48-h LC50.

The book offers a clear introduction to the field through several approaches, from the introductory to the more mathematical. Risk Assessment with Time to Event Models demonstrates the relevance of time in the analysis and reporting of toxicity data through the use of practical examples from the field of environmental toxicology. It also incorporates helpful analogies from other disciplines that commonly use time to event modeling.

Fundamental QSARs for Metal Ions describes the basic and essential applications of quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSARs) for regulatory or industrial scientists who need to predict metal ion bioactivity. It includes 194 QSARs that have been used to predict metal ion toxicity and 86 QSARs that have been used to predict metal ion bioconcentration, biosorption, and binding. It is an excellent sourcebook for academic, industrial, and government scientists and policy makers, and provides a wealth of information on the biological and chemical activities of metal ions as they impact health and the environment. Fundamental QSARs for Metal Ions was designed for regulatory and regulated organizations that need to use QSARs to predict metal ion bioactivity, as they now do for organic chemicals. It has the potential to eliminate resources to test the toxicity of metal ions or to promulgate regulations that require toxicity testing of metal ions because the book illustrates how to construct QSARs to predict metal ion toxicity. In addition, the book: Provides a historical perspective and introduction to developing QSARs for metal ions Explains the electronic structures and atomic parameters of metals essential to understanding differences in chemical properties that influence cation toxicity, bioconcentration, biosorption, and binding Describes the chemical properties of metals that are used to develop QSARs for metal ions Illustrates the descriptors needed to develop metal ion-ligand binding QSARs Discusses 280 QSARs for metal ions Explains the differences between QSARs for metal ions and Biotic Ligand Models Lists the regulatory limits of metals and provides examples of regulatory applications Illustrates how to construct QSARs for metal ions Dr. John D. Walker is the winner of the 2013 SETAC Government Service Award.

The Nature and Use of Ecotoxicological Evidence: Natural Science, Statistics, Psychology, and Sociology examines how toxicologists and environmental professionals come to understand and make decisions about possible harm from pollutants. Drawing on concepts and techniques from the natural, social and mathematical sciences, the book emphasizes how pollutant-related evidence is gathered, assessed, communicated and applied in decision-making. Each chapter begins with a real-world example before exploring fundamental cognitive, social, statistical or natural science concepts to explain the opening example. Methods from other disciplines for recognizing, reducing or removing the influence of impediments in wise decision-making are highlighted in each chapter. Misreading evidence by the scientific community, and miscommunication to regulators and the public, remain major impediments to wise action in pollution issues. Which evidence comes to dominate the dialogue among scientists, regulators and decision makers depends on social and scientific dynamics. Yet psychological and sociological factors that influence the movement of evidence through scientific communities to regulators receive cursory discussion by professionals unfamiliar with the sociology literature. Toxicologists, environmental scientists, psychologists and professionals and students across the sciences will find the book useful for understanding how evidence is generated, assessed and communicated in their own fields.

This book provides an in-depth discussion of various aspects of metal ecotoxicology. State-of-the-art information and techniques in areas ranging from metal behavior in surface waters to bioaccumulation kinetics and toxicokinetics to community effects are presented in a hierarchical arrangement. Specific topics discussed include metals in abiotic components of ecosystems, autecology (effects of metals relative to the individual or a single species), and metals in marine and freshwater systems in the context of synecology (species associated and interacting as a unit). This is an important book that will be useful to researchers, risk assessment consultants, regulatory personnel, and teachers and students.