Ecotoxicology, most sensitive species

PCBs (Olsson et al. 1994). Reproductive effects in birds and piscivorous mammals appear to be Ah receptor-mediated, since planar, dioxin-like PCB congeners are more effective in inducing these effects than non-dioxin-like congeners (Giesy and Kannan 1998). In a comprehensive review of the literature concerning the ecotoxicology of planar PCBs, DOI (1996) concluded that the Chinook salmon, domestic chicken, mink, and Rhesus macaque were among the most sensitive species to effects from planar PCB exposure. 

Figure 9.4 Risk assessment for an aquatic environment based on a probabilistic procedure into which the concept of varying sensitivity in multispecies communities is incorporated (Nendza, Volmer and Klein, 1990). Exposure and effects are determined separately from experimental or, if not available, QSAR data. Physico-chemical data and information on bioaccumulation and biotransformation are the input for computer simulations of transport and distribution processes that estimate the concentrations of a potential contaminant in a selected river scenario, using, for example, the EXAMS model (Bums, Cline and Lassiter, 1982). For the effects assessment, the log-normal sensitivity distribution is calculated from ecotoxicological data and the effective concentrations for the most sensitive species are determined. The exposure concentrations and toxicity data are then compared by analysis of variance to give a measure of risk for the environment. Modified from Nendza, Volmer and Klein (1990) with kind permission from Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht.

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