Proposing Effective Ecotoxicity Test Species for Chemical Safety Assessment in East Asia: A Review

Abstract

East Asia leads the global chemical industry, but environmental chemical risk in these countries is an emerging concern. Despite this, only a few native species that are representative of East Asian environments are listed as test species in international guidelines compared with those native to Europe and America. This review suggests that Zacco platypus, Misgurnus anguillicaudatus, Hydrilla verticillata, Neocaridina denticulata spp., and Scenedesmus obliquus, all resident to East Asia, are promising test species for ecotoxicity tests. The utility of these five species in environmental risk assessment (ERA) varies depending on their individual traits and the state of ecotoxicity research, indicating a need for different applications of each species according to ERA objectives. Furthermore, the traits of these five species can complement each other when assessing chemical effects under diverse exposure scenarios, suggesting they can form a versatile battery for ERA. This review also analyzes recent trends in ecotoxicity studies and proposes emerging research issues, such as the application of alternative test methods, comparative studies using model species, the identification of specific markers for test species, and performance of toxicity tests under environmentally relevant conditions. The information provided on the utility of the five species and alternative issues in toxicity tests could assist in selecting test species suited to study objectives for more effective ERA.