Multiple Stressors in the Environment : Assessing Ecological Effects in Complex Systems

As scientific disciplines are being integrated and considered collectively rather than individually the need to consider new approaches to address environmental issues is more important now than ever before. This book begins with a section that describes the State of the Science, tracing the major developments in the modern environmental era. Following the introduction, the book illustrates, through several case studies, the interactions of multiple stressors (i.e., biological, chemical, physical, and societal) in the environment and underscore the dynamics that reveal insights that would not be apparent if the stressors were evaluated singly. These case studies address different levels of ecological complexity, biomes, and different social structures (for example freshwater, estuarine, marine, and terrestrial systems that are set within urban, rural, areas of multiple ethnicities including Indigenous Communities). The book concludes with a highlight of recent developments in analytical capacity in the fields of biology, chemistry, and ecology. Computational methods including artificial intelligence and machine learning; and techniques to illicit values of affected stakeholders; and application of conflict resolution techniques to reach agreed practices and policies are also covered.