Cause-effect relationships in ecology
A close connection between cause and effect is the basic prerequisite for the mechanistic prediction of the behaviour of ecological systems. In ecotoxicology, for example, concentration-effect relationships are common to evaluate the biological effects of chemicals. This shows that at the individual-, population- and community level large differences between predicted and observed effects are present. Obviously, the understanding of the processes determining the effects is incomplete.
The lecture identifies ecological processes that are relevant for the causal relationship between toxic stress and biological effects. Based on these ecotoxicological correlations, the ecological relevance of these processes for the evaluation of non-chemical stressors is presented.
Host: Martin Friedrichs