Assessment of ecotoxicological risks due to chemical substances is based in part on establishing concentration-response relationships for different organisms, including plants, invertebrates, and vertebrates living on land, fresh water, or sea water. European regulations for assessing the risks due to chemical products thus recommend the measurement of toxic effects on at least three taxons (algae, crustacea, fish) [1]. The assessment becomes more relevant when based upon a variety of different organisms, with a range of different biological and ecological features (autotrophic or heterotrophic, benthic or pelagic habitat, and different modes of reproduction, growth, respiration, or feeding, etc.), but also when it describes the effects of contaminants on sensitive physiological functions such as growth and reproduction, which determine the balance of populations of terrestrial and aquatic species in their environment.
Toxicological Models Part B: Environmental Models