Assessing deleterious ecosystem-level effects of environmental pollutants as a means of avoiding evolutionary consequences.

ABSTRACT

Recent interest has been expressed in the possible need to develop ways to detect and quantify pollutants that affect evolution. Although environmental pollutants clearly can affect evolutionary processes, the evolutionary changes are a response to ecosystem-level toxicity elicited by the pollutant, rather than a direct effect of the pollutant on evolution. Accordingly, emphasis needs to be placed on assessing the adverse effects of environmental pollutants on ecosystem structure and function in order to avoid subsequent evolutionary consequences.