Tolerance to Environmental Contaminants

About this book

This up-to-date compilation from international experts covers the tolerance of living organisms to toxic contaminants. It examines the degree of generalization of tolerance at different levels of biological organization and discusses the defense mechanisms involved in the acquisition of tolerance to different classes of environmental contaminants, taking into account the limits at which such mechanisms are overwhelmed. The book also considers the ecological consequences and specific aspects of tolerance, especially those that impact the environment and society.

Contents

Pollution Tolerance: From Fundamental Biological Mechanisms to Ecological Consequences. Tolerance to Contaminants: Evidence from Chronically-Exposed Populations of Aquatic Organisms. Inter- and Intra-Specific Variability of Tolerance: Implications for Bioassays and Biomonitoring. Microbial Pollution-Induced Community Tolerance. Tolerance to Natural Environmental Change and the Effect of Added Chemical Stress. Mechanisms of Defence and the Acquisition of Tolerance to Chemical Stress. Biodynamic Parameters of the Accumulation of Toxic Metals, Detoxification and the Acquisition of Metal Tolerance. Antioxidant Defences and Acquisition of Tolerance to Chemical Stress. Biotransformation of Organic Contaminants and the Acquisition of Resistance. Stress Proteins and the Acquisition of Tolerance. The Multixenobiotic Transport System: A System Governing Intracellular Contaminant Bioavailability. Ecological and Ecophysiological Aspects of Tolerance. Tolerance and Biodiversity. Cost of Tolerance. Tolerance and the Trophic Transfer of Contaminants. Case Studies. Bacterial Tolerance in Contaminated Soils: Potential of the PICT Approach in Microbial Ecology. Adaptation to Metals in Higher Plants: The Case of Arabidopsis halleri (Brassicaceae). Insects and Pesticides. Conclusions.

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Biography

Universite de Nantes, SMAB, Nantes Cedex, France The Natural History Museum, London, UK University of Nice-Sophia Antipolis, Nice, France