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Lizard Contaminant Data for Ecological Risk Assessment

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Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology

Part of the book series: Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology ((RECT,volume 165))

Abstract

Ecological risk assessments, to be realistic, should include a full complement of the relevant members of the systems being studied. Reptiles are important constituents and comprise a large percentage of the faunal biomass in many terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. They are predators and prey of vertebrates and invertebrates, and their unique life histories make their roles in food webs diverse and important. In addition, reptiles are crucial to the proper functioning of many ecological processes. However, reptiles are rarely included in ecological risk assessments because either contaminant data are not available or they are not considered to be important in ecosystem functions. Certainly, the former lack has been a direct result of the latter opinion. Existing risk assessment schemes lose their predictive value when important taxa, such as reptiles, are missing, especially in risk assessments performed for terrestrial arid ecosystems (van der Valk 1997). Reptiles also are infrequently considered in habitat evaluation and management (Fontenot et aI. 1996). By neglecting reptiles, we evaluate only a portion of the biotic community and cannot fully assess the risks posed by human intervention.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Cadmus Group, Inc., 136 Mitchell Road, Oak Ridge, TN, 37830, USA

    Kym Rouse Campbell

  2. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, 569 Dabney Hall, Knoxville, TN, 37996-1610, USA

    Todd S. Campbell

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  1. Kym Rouse Campbell
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    George W. Ware (Editor Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology) (Editor Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology)

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Campbell, K.R., Campbell, T.S. (2000). Lizard Contaminant Data for Ecological Risk Assessment. In: Ware, G.W. (eds) Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology. Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, vol 165. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-1172-3_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-1172-3_2

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