GENETIC ECOTOXICOLOGY AND RISK ASSESSMENT: AN OVERVIEW

摘要

The possibility of using marine organisms as sentinels to provide early warning of potential threats to man is examined. Recognition of the genotoxic disease syndrome in lower animals highlights the need to explore the relationships between DNA damage and its phenotypic consequences. Within a given population, not all individuals are equally susceptible to pollutant toxicity (including genotoxicity). The potential for using similarities in phenotypic traits to recognize subsets of individuals within populations possessing similar genotypes is discussed. Risk assessment procedures are required which enable genotoxin exposure to be related to specific consequences at the community and ecosystem levels. This necessitates both a sound specific understanding of the mechanisms involved and development of pragmatic ecotoxicological tools that can be employed by environmental managers.