Trace Metal Marine Ecotoxicology: History and Perspective

This paper briefly reviews the history and progress of trace metal marine ecotoxicology over the past few decades. Three main areas of metal ecotoxicology are transport in the environment, accumulation and toxicity, as well as the risk assessment. We have seen tremendous progresses in these areas as a result of interdisciplinary efforts by biologists, chemists, engineers, governmental regulators and managers. I then discuss the future perspectives of metal ecotoxicology. It is expected that this field will receive increasing attention in China. Certainly I hope that Xiamen can become a center for metal ecotoxicology and biogeochemistry research.