Ecotoxicity

Ecotoxicity, the subject of study of the field of ecotoxicology (a portmanteau of Ecology and Toxicology) refers to the potential for biological, chemical or physical stressors to affect ecosystems. Such stressors might occur in the natural environment at densities, concentrations or levels high enough to disrupt the natural biochemistry, physiology, behavior and interactions of the living organisms that comprise the ecosystem.