Which of the following is a characteristic of pesticides with higher toxicity?

Pesticides with higher toxicity are characterized by their ability to cause harmful effects at lower doses. This means that a smaller quantity of the pesticide can lead to significant adverse effects on the target organism or even non-target species, including humans and wildlife.

The concept of toxicity is often quantitatively expressed through measures such as LD50 (the lethal dose for 50% of a test population) and LC50 (the lethal concentration for 50% of a test population). Higher LD50 and LC50 values indicate lower toxicity; thus, these measures do not support higher toxicity characteristics. Additionally, while higher application rates may be associated with some pesticides, they do not inherently define the toxicity level of a substance, which is more accurately characterized by the dose needed to elicit an effect. Therefore, lower doses required for the pesticide to be effective directly signify its higher level of toxicity.