Abstract
Ecotoxicological data using life table evaluation are reviewed and analyzed with the power function model. Life table evaluation and population growth experiments are proposed as experimental procedures that provide demographic parameters (e.g. intrinsic rate of natural increase) relevant for calculating extinction risk due to pollutant exposure. Totally 47 concentration vs. intrinsic rate data sets were collected and analyzed with two indices in the power function model, α and β. The α-value is the concentration at which the intrinsic rate of increase drops off below zero due to exposure and the β-value represents curvature of the response. The α-values, which represent strength of ecological toxicity, are highly correlated with acute LC50s. It is indicated that the α-values are indirectly predictable from acute LC50s. Such statistical extrapolation may be useful for ecological risk assessment based on extinction probability of populations.
