Author(s):

Shanky Bhat

Abstract: Ecotoxicology can be defined as the ‘study of impacts of pollutants on the structure and function of ecosystems’ it can be by manmade poisonous chemicals and their effect on the environment, it does not include the study of naturally occurring toxins or it is a scientific discipline combining the methods of ecology and toxicology in studying the effects of toxic substances and especially pollutants on the environment. Ecotoxicology is a mix of various discipline ecology, toxicology, analytical chemistry, physiology, molecular biology, and mathematics. Ecotoxicology looks at the impacts of contaminants including populations, pesticides on individuals, natural communities, and ecosystems. Communities of living things and the environments they live in form ecosystems. Ecosystems include rivers, ponds, deserts, grasslands, and forests, and they too can be affected by pesticides. Ecotoxicologists also study what happens to the pesticides themselves, where they go in the environment, how long they last, and how they finally break down. Herein we review what is ecotoxicology, different kinds of toxicants their impact on biodiversity, assessment of toxicity of environmental toxicant.

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