Terra (aqua) incognita : knowledge gaps in global ecotoxicology

Abstract

The peer-reviewed toxicological literature contains twice as many studies pertaining to the River Thames (United Kingdom) than to the Congo River (Central Africa), despite the latter's watershed being roughly 250 times larger and sustaining a 5-fold greater human population (Web of Science database). Protecting such underresearched natural resources from chemical contamination requires local research to fill knowledge gaps, attention to regional expertise, and incorporation of local communities into the decision-making process. The support of regional, collaborative networks may be the most important of these because they will be most responsive to emerging ecotoxicological concerns as they develop.