Research on the Physiological Basis of Population Dynamics in Relation to Ecotoxicology

Abstract

One of the main obstacles that hampers ecotoxlcology is the poor insight into the relationship between physiological and population dynamics. The role of laboratory experiments, modeling, mathematical analysis and computer simulation studies is discussed in research aiming at this relation. Energy and nutrient budgets of organisms are found to be of vital importance. This paper evaluates the progress that has been made in concrete efforts to work out energy and nutrient budgets for simple freshwater plankton systems stressed by toxic chemicals with different modes of action.