PART 5_2 Chemical contaminants and ecotoxicology

Physiological changes
Non-protective biochemical responses lead to
Physiological changes which could be
observed at organ and organism levels
• Organ level:
– accumulation of Cd in kidney, which could cause
cell death (cytotoxicity), resulting in dysfunction of
the kidney
– PAHs and Lung cancer
• Organism level:
– decrease in production (growth and reproduction)
– changes in gene frequency
– decrease in resources acquisition and uptake