Ecotoxicology

Objectives

General objective

To acquire knowledge about environmental pollutants, methods to study both the nature and the extent of environmental contamination, and techniques to quantify the effects of xenobiotics on organisms and populations.

Knowledge and aptitudes:

Identify the major groups (classes) of pollutants in edaphic, freshwater, marine and atmospheric environments.

Recognize the importance knowing the behavior of a pollutant or mixture of pollutants in the environment for environmental risk assessment, including human health.

Know the main ecotoxicological tests and their application to existent cases.

Being able to understand the relevance of biomarkers and their use in toxicity tests.

Understand the importance of using different organisms and of different levels of organization for the selection of the most suitable bioindicators for each environmental scenario.

Recognize the value of integrated biomonitoring programs in assessing human and environmental health risks.

Program

1. Main pollutants (anthropogenic and natural) in edaphic, freswater, marine and atmospheric environments: metals, pesticides, toxins, VOCs

2. Factors affecting toxicity: dose; time and route of exposure; bioavailability, bioaccumulation and biomagnification

3. Biomarkers of exposure, effect and susceptibility in different levels of organization - molecular, cellular, tissue, organ and population; characteristics of the biomarkers

4. Development of the concepts of monitoring and biomonitoring

5. Risk assessment of occupational and environmental exposure to pollutants in human populations

6. Environmental contamination by agrochemicals: toxicological effects in organisms of the agricultural ecosystem and humans

7. Bioremediation - mechanisms involved in phytoremediation processes and vermiremediation and selection of the most effective species

8. Mechanical and chemical decontamination - general notions about the most current decontamination processes in soils and aquatic environments

Teaching Methodologies

The course has theoretical and practice classes, with expository sessions combined with periods of study, where students, tutored by the teacher, explore scientific articles related to ecotoxicological studies.

Bibliography

C.H. Walker, R.M. Sibly, S.P. Hopkin, D.B. Peakall, 2012. 4ª Ed. Principles of Ecotoxicology, 386 pp.

Hodgson, E.(Ed.). 2010. A textbook of modern toxicology. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 648 pp.

Nriagu, J.(Ed.). Encyclopedia of Environmental Health. 2011. Five-Volume Set, Ed., 5016pp.