Toxicological Impacts of Waterborne Pollutants on the Health and Behavior of Aquatic Organisms

Dear Colleagues,

Aquatic ecosystems are increasingly threatened by a broad spectrum of waterborne pollutants, including heavy metals, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, personal care products, microplastics, nanomaterials, and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). These contaminants, primarily introduced through industrial, agricultural, and urban activities, are of particular concern due to their potential to accumulate, interact, and exert diverse toxicological effects across multiple biological levels of organization.

While traditional assessments have often focused on acute lethality, a growing body of evidence highlights the importance of sublethal and mechanistic endpoints, ranging from oxidative stress, endocrine disruption, and genotoxicity to altered neurological and behavioral responses, which can compromise individual performance and lead to population- and community-level impacts.

The Special Issue, "Toxicological Impacts of Waterborne Pollutants on the Health and Behavior of Aquatic Organisms", seeks to advance mechanistic understanding of contaminant effects through integrative approaches that link molecular, biochemical, physiological, and behavioral endpoints with population dynamics and ecological modeling. We invite submissions employing high-resolution methodologies, including omics-based tools, novel biomarkers, advanced imaging, and computational toxicology, to elucidate toxicokinetic and toxicodynamic processes. Studies addressing mixture toxicity, non-monotonic dose–response relationships, and cross-generational or evolutionary consequences of exposure are of particular interest.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Sublethal health and behavioral responses to legacy and emerging contaminants;
• Long-term and transgenerational effects of contaminant exposure;
• Interactive effects of multiple pollutants and natural or climate-related stressors;
• Mesocosm and field-based approaches for pollutant assessment;
• Development and validation of novel biomarkers and bioassays for pollutant monitoring and risk assessment;
• Molecular, biochemical, and omics-based approaches to elucidate pollutant-induced pathways;
• Ecological modeling and predictive frameworks linking individual-level toxicity to population and community outcomes.

By integrating mechanistic toxicology with ecological relevance, this Special Issue aims to provide a platform for advancing predictive frameworks that inform environmental risk assessment, promote the protection of aquatic ecosystems, and support the sustainable management of water resources.

Dr. Gustavo Axel Elizalde-Velázquez
Dr. Leobardo Manuel Gómez-Oliván
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Environments is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• aquatic ecotoxicology
• waterborne pollutants
• behavioral and physiological responses
• mechanistic toxicology
• environmental risk assessment