title: Variation in variance means more than mean variations: what does variability tell us about population health status?
abstract: In environmental science, the variability of biological responses in natural or laboratory populations is a well known and documented phenomenon. However, while an extensive literature aims to explain and understand the origin of variability, few try to use it as a demonstration of the population's response facing a stress. We propose here a theoretical framework that explores various patterns of variability both within and among populations, and seeks methods useful in bioevaluation methodologies. We also introduce the concept of "ecotoxicological niche" to characterize the ability of a population to endure contamination.
authors.affiliation: Université de Lorraine, CNRS UMR 7360, Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire des Environnements Continentaux (LIEC) - Metz, France. Electronic address: simon.devin@univ-lorraine.fr.
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Devin
authors.affiliation: Université de Lorraine, CNRS UMR 7360, Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire des Environnements Continentaux (LIEC) - Metz, France.
authors.forename: Laure
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Giamberini
authors.affiliation: Université de Lorraine, CNRS UMR 7360, Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire des Environnements Continentaux (LIEC) - Metz, France.
authors.forename: Sandrine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pain-Devin
mesh_terms: D015415:Biomarkers; D054750:Ecotoxicology; D004777:Environment; D004787:Environmental Pollution; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018570:Risk Assessment
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers
keywords: Biomarkers; Ecotoxicology; Niche; Population acclimatation; Risk assessment; Variability