Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41437732›Full record

ReviewEnvironmental science & technology2026

Are Behavioral Ecotoxicity Endpoints Relevant at the Population Level? Evidence-Based Insights for Environmental Protection.

Michael G Bertram, Marlene Ågerstrand, Sigal Balshine, Jack A Brand, Bryan W Brooks, ZhiChao Dang, Alex T Ford, Henner Hollert, Matthew K LeFauve, Jack L Manera and 11 more

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Environmental science & technology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Review
  6. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

21 authors.

Michael G BertramDepartment of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Skogsmarksgränd 17, Umeå 907 36, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0001-5320-8444
Marlene ÅgerstrandDepartment of Environmental Science, Stockholm University, Svante Arrhenius väg 8c, Stockholm 114 18, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0003-2697-2310
Sigal BalshineDepartment of Psychology, Neuroscience, & Behaviour, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4K1, Canada.
Jack A BrandDepartment of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Skogsmarksgränd 17, Umeå 907 36, Sweden.
Bryan W BrooksDepartment of Environmental Science, Baylor University, One Bear Place, Waco, Texas 76798-7266, United States.ORCID 0000-0002-6277-9852
ZhiChao DangNational Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Antonie van Leeuwenhoeklaan 9, Bilthoven 3721 MA, The Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0002-4288-9843
Alex T FordInstitute of Marine Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, University of Portsmouth, Ferry Road, Portsmouth PO4 9LY, U.K.ORCID 0000-0001-5202-546X
Henner HollertGoethe University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Straße 13, Frankfurt am Main 60438, Germany.
Matthew K LeFauveSuperfund & Emergency Management Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 5 Post Office Square, Boston, Massachusetts 02109, United States.
Jack L ManeraSchool of Biological Sciences, Monash University, 25 Rainforest Walk, Melbourne 3800, Australia.ORCID 0009-0003-7947-6473
Jake M MartinDepartment of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Skogsmarksgränd 17, Umeå 907 36, Sweden.
Marcus MichelangeliDepartment of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Skogsmarksgränd 17, Umeå 907 36, Sweden.
Maria MoironDepartment of Evolutionary Biology, Bielefeld University, Konsequenz 45, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany.
Eleanor R MooreSchool of Biological Sciences, Monash University, 25 Rainforest Walk, Melbourne 3800, Australia.
Holly J PuglisU.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Columbia Environmental Research Center, 4200 New Haven Road, Columbia, Missouri 65201, United States.
Andrew SihDepartment of Environmental Science and Policy, University of California, 350 E Quad, Davis, California 95616, United States.
Jeffery A SteevensU.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Columbia Environmental Research Center, 4200 New Haven Road, Columbia, Missouri 65201, United States.ORCID 0000-0003-3946-1229
Eli S J ThoréDepartment of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Skogsmarksgränd 17, Umeå 907 36, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0002-0029-8404
Bob B M WongSchool of Biological Sciences, Monash University, 25 Rainforest Walk, Melbourne 3800, Australia.
Lauren ZinkDepartment of Zoology, University of British Columbia, #3051-6270 University Blvd., Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada.ORCID 0000-0003-1083-9136
Tomas BrodinDepartment of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Skogsmarksgränd 17, Umeå 907 36, Sweden.

Funding

The effects of climate change on the natural attenuation and sedimentary record of harmful algal bloom toxins and microbial signalsP01ES028942 · NIEHS · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA AT COLUMBIA · PI CHATTERJEE, SAURABH · 2018 to 2022
$5.7M
NIEHS NIH HHS P01 ES028942
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

A substantial body of evidence exists demonstrating that exposure to environmental contaminants can alter animal behavior. Moreover, methodological and technological advancements, as well as increasing standardization, mean that behavioral ecotoxicity studies are more rigorous and reliable than ever before. Despite this, behavioral data are still seldom used in the risk assessment and regulation of chemicals. This is partly due to a lack of clarity among some stakeholders about whether changes in behavior at the individual level result in population-level outcomes. To address this, we first consider the state of evidence within the field of behavioral ecotoxicology linking individual-level behavioral alterations with population-level consequences. We then assess the evidence from behavioral ecology and other neighboring fields that supports this link. Further, we evaluate whether some behavioral endpoints are more easily tied to population-level changes than others. In this regard, we propose combining insights from two complementary ecological frameworks─the functional trait framework and the limiting traits framework─to evaluate which behaviors should be prioritized in ecotoxicological research and regulatory efforts. We contend that the link between behavioral changes and population-level outcomes is evident, with behavioral endpoints representing a highly valuable yet so far underutilized line of evidence in applied environmental protection.

Indexed as

Behavior, AnimalEcotoxicologyAnimalsEnvironmental PollutantsRisk AssessmentEnvironmental Pollutantsbehaviorchemicalecologyecotoxicologyhazard assessmentregulationrisk assessment

Identifiers

PMID41437732
PMCPMC12810249

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.