Theories in Ecological Risk Assessment

About this book

This book introduces various mathematical models used in ecological risk assessment, primarily discussing models used in hazard assessment. The book aims to link ecology and conservation biology with risk assessments, bringing together the knowledge of ecotoxicology and ecology for effective risk assessment.

The first part describes population-level assessment in ecological risk assessment. The chapters cover current methodologies for ecological risk assessment, individual-level assessment, population dynamics models for population-level assessment, case studies, mathematical models for population extinctions, the derivation of mean time to extinction (MTE) and their case studies. The second part of the book discusses the mathematical models involved in hazard assessments. It introduces the method of risk assessment using species sensitivity distributions (SSDs), hazard assessment of metals, chemical mixtures using the Michaelis-Menten equation, basic elements of statistics and related topics.

Expected readers are risk assessors in governments and public sectors, students and young researchers interested in environmental science. The book is made accessible and easy to follow by beginners in mathematical biology and theoretical ecology.

Contents

Introduction - Ecologist in Wonderland

Part 1. Linking Ecotoxicology and Ecology
Chapter 1. Basic Concepts of Ecological Risk Assessment
Chapter 2. Population-level assessment
Chapter 3. Population models of extinction
Chapter 4. Population level assessment using the canonical model

Part 2. Models for ecotoxicology
Chapter 5. Species Sensitivity Distribution in Ecological Risk Assessment
Chapter 6. BLM: A model for predicting metal toxicities
Chapter 7. Mathematical models for chemical mixtures
Chapter 8. Statistics and related topics

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Biography

Masashi Kamo has been a researcher at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Research Institute of Science for Safety and Sustainability (RISS), Japan since 2004. His research interests include ecology, evolutionary biology, and risk assessment. In evolutionary biology, he is interested in topics such as the evolution of infectious diseases and uses various models to study and solve related problems. In risk assessment, he looks for topics that can be analyzed using mathematical models. This approach leads him to conduct research on a diverse range of topics within risk assessment.