Fundamentals of Ecotoxicology

Master course for biology students - principally aimed at MSc-students specializing in Arctic Marine Ecology and Arctic Marine Ecotoxicology.

The course is available as a singular course.

The course covers general principles of ecotoxicology through lectures, seminars, and a practical component. While the course focuses primarily on aquatic ecotoxicology, terrestrial case studies may also be included.

More specifically, the course deals with environmental contaminants and their fate in the environment, including emissions, contaminant transport, and effects on biota from cellular to community/ecosystem levels. Lectures provide an introduction to ecotoxicological approaches, toxicity testing, general concepts and theories (e.g. modes of action, mixture toxicity, ecotoxicological modelling), and chemical risk assessment. Seminars focus on specific themes and approaches in greater detail, and are organised as case studies with scientific papers or datasets to read in advance, followed by directed group discussions in class.

The practical component of the course consist of an experimental study, allowing students to acquire practical skills related to experimental design, sampling, and analytical procedures, and to apply theoretical knowledge. Seminars in data analysis and critical discussion will be organised to prepare students for the oral exam. Students will analyse their data and prepare a PowerPoint presentation, which is presented and followed by questions and discussion during the oral exam. This work provides significant training in scientific critical analysis and the communication of research results.

Teamwork is also an important aspect of both the practical component and the seminars.

Admission requires a Bachelor`s degree (180 ECTS) or equivalent qualification, with a major in biology of minimum 80 ECTS.

Local admission, application code 9371 - Master`s level singular course.

Knowledge 

• Be able to define and discuss specific terms within the field such as toxicity, bioavailability, bioaccumulation, biomagnification, etc.. 

• Have knowledge about all classes of contaminants (persistent organic pollutants, microplastics, heavy metals, hydrocarbons, etc.) including their sources and particular effects on living organisms. 

• Have knowledge about the chemical properties that determine their stability, persistence and fate in the environment as well as interactions with organisms and trophic transfer processes. 

• Be able to explain how contaminants interact with organisms from mode of actions to organismal and population/community level effects 

• Be familiar with a range of methods used in toxicity testing (e.g. LC50, in vitro, in vivo, mixture toxicity) and can discuss their relevance. 

• Have knowledge about the approaches to environmental risk assessment and the responsible authorities. 

Skills

• Know standard practical procedures during experimentation, from biological sample collection to data analysis in the laboratory, understand their rationale and execute them to preserve sample integrity and quality. 

• Be able to read and critically execute laboratory protocols on sampling procedures and sample analysis, such as making solutions, dilutions, and determine the appropriate labware to use. 

• Understand and apply equations in data treatment to transform raw data into final results (e.g. enzyme activities). 

• Be able to perform basic data treatment using Excel to process raw data (e.g. calculation of enzyme activities) 

• Be able to prepare and deliver an oral presentation of scientific results in a clear and concise manner, including appropriate data representation and critical discussion of own results in the context of existing literature.

General competence 

• Develop the ability to interpret ecotoxicology data (such as contaminant levels, biomarkers in biota) within a specific environmental context (monitoring, experiment etc.) and problematic (baseline study, exposure experiment, etc.). 

• Develop teamwork skills in the field and laboratory situations. 

• Acquire confidence to work autonomously in the laboratory and take decisions based on few instructions. 

• Develop the ability to plan in the context of a long-term project with multiple steps. 

If you pass the examination in this course, you will get an reduction in credits (as stated below), if you previously have passed the following courses:

• BIO-2015 Fundamentals of Ecotoxicology 1 10 ects
• BIO-2012 Fundamentals of Ecotoxicolgy I 10 ects

Language of instruction and examination

Schedule

This course is open to incoming exchange students.

Study Level: Master's

Admission to this course requires a Bachelor’s degree (180 ECTS) or an equivalent qualification, with a major in biology of at least 80 ECTS.

For details on how to apply for exchange, course selection guidelines, or to contact the Incoming Admissions Team, please visit: Admissions for Student Exchange.

More info about the coursework requirements

Participation to at least 3 different days of the practical work (experiment and laboratory days) is mandatory.

Students have to submit their data calculation sheet and the results of their project work on CANVAS within the given deadline. The teacher provides comments to allow students to improve their project work. The submission is mandatory to take the final examination.

Approved work requirements are valid for three years.

More info about the oral exam

Re-sit examination

Which parts of the exam must be taken during a new ordinary exam attempt?

Info about the weighting of parts of the examination

Oral exam ca. 50% of final grade

Written exam ca. 50% of final grade

Each assessment will be given a grade in percentage (%) according to defined criteria and transformed into a letter (A-F). The final grade will be based on the numerical weighted average of oral and the written exam and expressed as letter (A-F).