Ecotoxicology

Ecotoxicology is an interdisciplinary scientific field combining the knowledge of science studying ecosystems (ecology) and science studying the interaction of chemical substances with living organisms (toxicology). Ecotoxicology deals with the study of the effects of harmful substances on the ecosystem, studies toxic effects in nature, in organisms, especially effects in populations and communities, monitors and predicts the fate and effects of foreign substances in the environment.

Ecosystem

 * A functional system of living and non-living components of the environment, which are connected to each other by the exchange of substances, the flow of energy and the transmission of information.
 * A functional system of living and non-living components of the environment that influence each other and develop in a certain space and time.
 * The basic unit of the biosphere consisting of living organisms (plants, animals, microorganisms) and the surrounding abiotic environment (physical and chemical factors).
 * The energy flow leads to a clearly defined trophic (food) structure, biotic diversity, substance cycling (to the exchange of substances between living and non-living components) and the exchange of information within this system.
 * The primary source of energy for ecosystems is the Sun.

Ecology

 * Name from the Greek oikos (house) and logos (science, debate).
 * A scientific discipline from the field of life sciences (biological discipline) about the relationships between organisms (individuals), between groups of organisms (populations and communities) and between organisms and their abiotic or inorganic environment (physical – chemical factors).
 * It deals with monitoring the influence of harmful (toxic) foreign substances on free-living organisms in their environment.
 * It deals with the effect of harmful substances from the environment on humans, either directly from the components of the environment (water, air, soil), or through natural or human-controlled (food production) food chains.

related article

 * Metal contamination
 * Industrial substances
 * Introduction to toxicology

Source

 * ws: Ekotoxikologie