BB526: Basic Ecotoxicology

Students taking the course are expected to:

• Have knowledge of basic chemistry and biology at the level achieved in the first year courses.
• Be able to use spreadsheets for data analysis and data presentation (figures, tables etc.) of experimental results.

The aim of the course is to enable the student to understand and apply basic toxicological and eco-toxicological concepts and the most important working methods within this topic. The course also aims to give students insights in the environmental consequences og human activities. The above mentioned are important in regard to future employment in the medical industry, environmental administration, or teaching in high school and for biologists interested in wokring with chemical safety, conservation biology, sustainability, and the UN SDGs

• Give biology specific competences to understand and use toxicological and eco-toxicological data on chemicals.
• Give knowledge and understanding of the harmful effects of specific chemicals and groups of chemicals on humans, animals and plants in the environment and laboratory studies. Among these effects on single organs and systems such as the nervous system and the endocrine system.
  
• Give skills in practical laboratory work – including use of basic laboratory equipment and calculation of concentrations and dilutions.
• Give skills to handle and present (graphs and text) both experimental data generated in the laboratory and bigger data sets and to relate these data to theory and existing literature.
• Give training in comparison of knowledge from human studies and controlled animal experiments with a special view to identify associations and generate knew knowledge.
• Give training in critical thinking and relate critically to own results and the literature.
• Give training in collaboration, application of cross-disciplinary knowledge and working with feedback-based learning.
• Increase awarenss on how to work with the UN SDGs in a cross-disciplinary manner.
  

The learning objective of the course is that the student demonstrates the ability to:

• Explain discharge, transport and degradation of chemicals to or in the environment.
• Explain the mechanisms underlying the uptake, metabolism, elimination and effects in humans and animals.
• Describe the dispersal and effects of pollutants in the environment and in humans.
• Explain the general principles for environmental risk assessment of chemicals.
• Planning and perform and ecotoxicological experiment in theory and practice in smaller groups.
• Handle and analyse ecotoxicological data and present and interpret data both in writing and graphically (figures/graphs) and relate the genereated data with existing knowledge and established theories.
• Train an analytical and critical approach to handling and interpretation of ecotoxicological data, figures and literature.

The following main topics are contained in the course:

• Historical and present toxicological and eco-toxicological concepts and working methods 
• Determination of LC-50.
• Metabolism of exobiotics in humans and animals
• Uptake and elimination kinetics.
• Toxicology and ecotoxicology of endocrine disrupting chemicals, metals, emerging chemicals, chlorinated hydrocarbons (DDT, PCB, dioxins), hydrocarbons, acid rain, radioactive elements, pharmaceuticals and pesticides.
• General principles for risk assessment of chemicals.
• Experimental projects with a common overarching theme.
• Basic statistical analysis.
• Handling a primary scientific literature.

The book ‘Økotoksikologi' (only in Danish) by Poul Bjerregaard
Research papers

Videoes and online activities

See Blackboard for syllabus lists and additional literature references.