Title: weakest-link incongruity
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - weakest-link incongruity
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.15130
Status: current

Definition
Questionable extension of the critical life-stage concept (see critical life-stage testing) that protection of the most sensitive life stage will ensure protection of all life stages; it assumes that exposure of field populations to concentrations identified in laboratory testing as causing significant mortality at a critical stage of life will result in significant impact on the field population

Related Terms
- critical life-stage testing: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/14559
- populations: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/14932

Source
- PAC, 2009, 81, 829. 'Glossary of terms used in ecotoxicology (IUPAC Recommendations 2009)' on page 962 (https://doi.org/10.1351/PAC-REC-08-07-09)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/15130/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/15130/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/15130/xml

Citation: Citation: 'weakest-link incongruity' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. 10.1351/goldbook.15130
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Accessed: 2026-07-26T17:20:46+00:00