Untangling Species Sensitivity Paradox in Environmental Research

Untangling Species Sensitivity Paradox in Environmental Research

Biologically, two species within a genus are more similar (e.g., morphologically and genetically) in many respects than two other species belonging to different genera. Despite the long history of ecotoxicology and efforts to understand interspecies variability in sensitivity to environmental contaminants, choosing representative species for screening potential toxicity of the environmental contaminants, be it the conventional toxicants such as the dioxins or the emerging contaminants such as the manufactured nanomaterials, has remained challenging.