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The term "ecotoxicology" was coined by Truhaut in 1969, who defined it as "the branch of toxicology concerned with the study of toxic effects, caused by natural or synthetic pollutants, to the constituents of ecosystems, animal (including human), vegetable and microbial, in an integral context” (Truhaut, 1977). Ecotoxicology is alleged to be the integration of toxicology and ecology or, as Chapman (2002) suggested “ecology in the presence of toxicants”. It aims to predict the effects upon natural communities - ‘the ecosystem’- of stressors, be they anthropogenic in origin or otherwise. It differs from Environmental Toxicology in that it integrates the effects of stressors across all levels of biological organisation from the molecular to whole communities and ecosystems, whereas environmental toxicology focuses upon effects upon the individual (Maltby & Naylor, 1990).

The publication in 1962 of Rachel Carson's seminal volume, Silent Spring catalysed the separation of environmental toxicology- and, subsequently, ecotoxicology- from classical toxicology. The revolutionary element in Carson's work was her extrapolation from single-organism effects to effects at the whole ecosystem and the "balance of nature" (Bazerman et al., 2006). This systemic study is distinctly separate to the anthropocentric nature of classical toxicology and consequently ecotoxicology is a far broader discipline incorporating aspects of classical ecology, behavioural ecology, toxicology, physiology, molecular biology, environmental chemistry and a wealth of other disciplines in studying the movement of toxins through an ecosystem.

• Bazerman, Charles and René Agustin De los Santos. "Measuring Incommensurability: Are toxicology and ecotoxicology blind to what the other sees?" 9 January 2006.
• Chapman, P. M. 2002, "Integrating toxicology and ecology: putting the "eco" into ecotoxicology", Marine Pollution Bulletin, vol. 44, no. 1, pp. 7-15.
• L. Maltby, C. Naylor - 1990 - Preliminary Observations on the Ecological Relevance of the Gammarus `Scope for Growth' Assay: Effect of Zinc on Reproduction - Functional Ecology, Vol. 4, No. 3, New Horizons in Ecotoxicology (1990), pp. 393-397
• Truhaut, R. 1977, "Eco-Toxicology - Objectives, Principles and Perspectives", Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 151-173.

• Aquatic and Terrestrial Exotoxicology And Risk Management (Conference, 4 and 5 December 2006, Germany)

• European Centre for Ecotoxicology and Toxicology of Chemicals