SREL Reprint #2017
Ecotoxicology as a science
Michael C. Newman
Conclusion: Ecotoxicology is making the transition to a mature science. Whether this occurs quickly or slowly depends on our collective openness to change, dissatisfaction with mediocrity, and sense of urgency regarding current environmental issues. The distinct goals and activites of practical, technological, and scientific ecotoxicologists must be understood and valued during the transition. As scientific ecotoxicologists, it is time to abandon the false paradigm that "ecological systems are too complex to permit any useful level of prediction." This hobbling belief permeates much of ecotoxicology today and prolongs the tyranny of the particular (Newman, 1995). Although true in early stages of our science and still true in some areas of ecotoxicology, this false paradigm is now invoked more to avoid rigor and allow business to comfortably continue as usual. With its rejection, emphasis can be placed on paradigms that function as touchstones, not talismans. In addition to descriptive, analytical, and regulatory training, it is important that students develop strong problem-solving skills and a reflexive tendency to insist on knowing, "Why is this so?".
SREL Reprint #2017
Newman, M.C. 1996. Ecotoxicology as a science. pp. 1-9 In: M. C. Newman and C. H. Jagoe (Eds.). Ecotoxicology: A Hierarchical Treatment. CRC Press, Inc., Boca Raton, FL.
This information was provided by the University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (srel.uga.edu).