| Estimating the Effects of Toxicants on Ecosystem Services John Cairns, Jr.
1,2
and B. R. Niederlehner
1
1
University Center for Environmental and Hazardous Materials Studies
2
Department of Biology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061-0415 USA Abstract
Numerous functions of ecosystems are essential to the quality of human life, including the provision of food, the decomposition of sewage, the provision of potable water, and the replenishment of breathable air. Although attributes of ecosystems directly of use to human societies are not the only ones worth protecting, emphasizing their services may be the most effective means of communicating risks of toxicants to the general public. However, although spatial and temporal scales of experiments to assess risk vary relatively little, actual spatial scales vary considerably, from local environments to global ecosytems. Generally, models are used to bridge these gaps in scale. In this paper, we examine ways in which toxicity test endpoints have been developed to describe effects of pollutants on essential ecosystem functions and the ways in which results are then extrapolated to scales that risk managers can use. Key words : cumulative impact, ecosystem functions, integrated resource management, prediction, regional effects. Environ Health Perspect 102:936-939 (1994) http://ehpnet1.niehs.nih.gov/docs/1994/102-11/cairns.html Address correspondence to J. Cairns, Jr., 1020 Derring Hall, University Center for Environmental and Hazardous Materials Studies, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Balcksburg, VA 24061-0415 USA. Received 2 February 1994 ; accepted 15 August 1994.
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