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In Response: Biological arguments for selecting effect sizes in ecotoxicological testing—A governmental perspective

October 31, 2015

Criticisms of the uses of the no-observed-effect concentration (NOEC) and the lowest-observed-effect concentration (LOEC) and more generally the entire null hypothesis statistical testing scheme are hardly new or unique to the field of ecotoxicology [1-4]. Among the criticisms of NOECs and LOECs is that statistically similar LOECs (in terms of p value) can represent drastically different levels of effect. For instance, my colleagues and I found that a battery of chronic toxicity tests with different species and endpoints yielded LOECs with minimum detectable differences ranging from 3% to 48% reductions from controls [5].

Publication Year 2015
Title In Response: Biological arguments for selecting effect sizes in ecotoxicological testing—A governmental perspective
DOI 10.1002/etc.3108
Authors Christopher A. Mebane
Publication Type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Series Title Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry
Index ID 70169071
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse
USGS Organization Idaho Water Science Center