About this Research Topic
One might argue that the end justifies the means, however in cases of threatened and endangered species, or in environments where populations are already under stress due to the presence of contaminants it seems very hypocritical and short-sighted to sacrifice wild animals. Even in cases of large mammals like whales, it is stressful and invasive to obtain a tissue biopsy for research.
With advancements in toxicogenomic methods and non-invasive genomic assay techniques such as eDNA, non-targeted analyses for proteins and metabolites in biofluids, and cellular level RNAseq, we now have the ability to collect more information from minimal amounts of biological samples than we could from sacrificing a whole animal in the past. Now, more than ever, there is little justification for the use of lethal animal methods in environmental toxicology.
This research topic will consider manuscripts that use cutting-edge non-lethal or non-invasive methods for environmental contaminant and health monitoring, as well as review articles that discuss and explore areas for improvement in non-lethal wildlife sampling and/or the ethical considerations which field ecotoxicologists can use to asses and improve their current field sampling practices.
Keywords: non-lethal animal methods, alternatives, environmental toxicology, toxicogenomics
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.