Ecotoxicology: A Case-based Approach

A hands-on approach to understanding the impact of local and global stresses on ecosystems

Ecotoxicology: A Case-based Approach follows a “learning by doing” approach, building a deeper understanding of this multi-faceted discipline through the guided analysis of five carefully selected case studies that between them address both local and global anthropogenic impacts on ecosystem structure and function.

The book is divided into three sections. Section I covers the definition, history and methodology of ecotoxicology. Section II comprises five case studies, each detailing a selected anthropogenic stress, showing how the ecotoxicological approach has been used to explain its environmental impact and by doing so has provided mitigation and restoration strategies. The final section highlights future directions of ecotoxicology. To aid in reader learning, each chapter includes a test bank and reading list for further study.

Written by a highly experienced instructor with more than 30 years of studying and teaching the subject, Ecotoxicology includes case studies on:

• Acid rain in the past and in the present
• Finfish and shellfish aquaculture
• The extraction of bitumen from the oil sands of Alberta, Canada
• The release of toxic metals such as mercury, lead and cadmium, and the dumping of chemical wastes and other contaminants of concern in the Great Lakes area

Ecotoxicology: A Case-based Approach is an essential guide for upper undergraduate and postgraduate students in ecology and environmental sciences, as well as professionals and policy makers concerned with the conservation and sustainable management of natural resources.

Leah Bendell is a Professor Emerita in the Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science at Simon Fraser University. For over 30 years, she has studied how anthropogenic impacts alter ecosystem structure and function and the consequences of such impacts on ecosystem and human health. Her research has taken her to the Albertan Tar Sands, the mines of Indonesia, the freshwater lakes and wetlands of Ontario and the intertidal regions of coastal British Columbia.