ECOTOX Knowledgebase Quick Guide
www.epa.gov/ecotox EPA/600/S-24/207
General Guidance on How to Navigate / Search / Explore Site:
o The “Search” function is designed to query data when exact search parameters are known. Moreover, data can be restricted or refined by
selecting additional search parameters. It is recommended to conduct searches initially by including as many parameters as possible, and
then filter or refine if the data set is too large.
o Using your browser's Back button will result in the loss of all search entries made in any of the forms in the ECOTOX Knowledgebase
(hereinafter referred to as ECOTOX).
o The search logic includes two basic strategies, combination/union, and intersection. Within parameters, the selections are combined.
Between parameters, the search will intersect.
o The “Explore” function allows you to search ECOTOX if the exact parameters you want to search are not known or if you would like a
visual representation of the data. This is a great starting point for filtering the data prior to running a search.
o Context-specific help is available by clicking on the located within the Chemical, Effects, Species, and Publication search parameters.
o The Help function contains a complete User Guide (which provides details on the database functionality), Data Field Definitions, and the
Terms Appendix with ECOTOX-controlled vocabularies and definitions. You can also read more in: Olker et al. 2022 doi:10.1002/etc.5324
o All users employing ECOTOX data should consult the original scientific paper to ensure an understanding of the context of the
data retrieved.
Search parameters (you must select at least one parameter):
• All Chemicals: Names, CAS Registry numbers or
predefined groups.
• All Effects: Search specific measurements or select effect
groups from a predefined list.
• All Endpoints: Select all or any endpoints, or statistics but
no endpoint or endpoint is not reported (NR).
• All Species: Taxonomic Kingdom, Scientific or common names,
or predefined groups.
• All Test Conditions: Any or all lab and field studies, water and
soil exposure, various control types, chemical analysis
conducted, and specific durations.
• All Publication Options: Search by year, author, datasets
or specific ECOTOX data updates.
Any selections made using multiple parameter search boxes within the
search page will narrow the search result.
Perform a search (Update Search): Once all parameters are selected
or entered, click the "Update Search" button to apply the selection
parameters and perform the search. Aquatic and Terrestrial reports are
run separately. The search will run on the habitat that is selected
(Aquatic or Terrestrial) at the time the "Update Search" button is clicked.
Clicking to select the other habitat will automatically run that search
provided no other changes were made to search parameters.
Customize Output Fields: To change the extracted fields displayed
and exported, click the "Customize Output Fields" button and then click
"Select All" or click boxes next to fields to include in the report.
Reports: All results initially display in HTML format. You can choose to
export the report after the results are retrieved by selecting the “Export
as…” button. Excel and delimited reports are available for selection.
Reset All: Clears all search parameters.
View All Applied: A list of the parameters selected is provided which can be exported to retain a record of the search.
About Search
The "Search" function is located within a single web page. Click on the
plus sign next to each “Search” parameter to select or enter specific
fields.
For more information on the ECOTOX Knowledgebase: Telephone: 218 529 5225 Email: ecotox.support@epa.gov
ECOTOX Knowledgebase Quick Guide
www.epa.gov/ecotox EPA/600/S-24/207
For more information on the ECOTOX Knowledgebase: Telephone: 218 529 5225 Email: ecotox.support@epa.gov
About Explore
“Explore” is a great tool for searching ECOTOX if you do not know the exact
parameters you want to search or would like a visual representation of general
and specific data patterns. “Explore” provides an interactive way to initiate
queries by Chemicals, Species or Effects, apply filters, and plot the results.
From “Explore”, click the “Send Query Filters to Search” button to further refine
parameters and export results from “Search”.
Queries in “Explore” are predominately driven by selecting predefined groups
within each of the Chemicals, Species, and Effects pages. Users are also able
to customize queries by clicking the ‘Create Custom Group’ button and
browsing or entering information for Chemicals, Species, or Effects.
Querying and Filtering Data:
To query the data, start by selecting the parameter of interest (Chemicals,
Species or Effects). Select from the predefined lists, then click "Explore Data".
From the tables displayed for the Group Summary or Records, you can further
refine the data by applying Query Filters or selecting to include/exclude Aquatic
or Terrestrial habitats. Major query filters available in “Explore” are listed here:
• Chemicals: Within the Chemicals filter, you may select one or more
chemical names using control/click to highlight chemical(s) of interest.
• Species Group: Within the Species Group filter, you may select one
or more species groups using control/click to highlight group(s) of
interest.
• Family: Within the Family filter, you may select one or more families
using control/click to highlight those of interest.
• Genus: Within the Genus filter, you may select one or more genus using
control/click to highlight those of interest.
• Species: Within the Species filter, you may select one or more
species using control/click to highlight those of interest.
• Effect Groups: Within this filter, you may select one or more effect
groups using control/click to highlight group(s) of interest.
• Effect Measurements: Within the Effect Measurements filter, you
may select one or more effects using control/click to highlight
measurement(s) of interest.
• Endpoints: Within the Endpoints filter, you may select one or more
endpoints using control/click to highlight endpoint(s) of interest.
• Duration: Within the Duration filter, you may specify a value or range
for the Observed Duration (in days).
• Publication Years: Here, you may specify a range of publication years.
Interactive Data Display:
Once a query has been run, the data can be displayed in the interactive
plot options with results continued to be refined using the Query Filters
mentioned above. After the query is run, you can toggle between various
features (Group Summary, Records, and Plot View).
The predefined plot options have Chemical Concentration (in a unit ratio
equivalent to ppm) on the y-axis and either Effect Group or Duration (in
days) on the x-axis. The Custom button allows other plot options with
either Chemical Concentration or Duration on the y-axis and any of the
categorical filters on the x-axis and Legend Category.
• Data records are only plotted if they can be converted to the
standardized concentration units (ppm).
• In the simplified Results Table below the plot, data displayed can be
limited using text boxes above each column.
• Both table and plot can be exported. “Send Query Filters to Search” is
recommended to allow the export of results with all available fields.