ECTS
ECTS Course Catalogue
Course details
Course code: BBS20393o14Semester: 2014/2015 summer
Name: Ecotoxicology
Major: Biology
Study Type: second cycle
Course type: compulsory
Study Semester: 2
ECTS points: 5
Hours (Lectures / Tutorials / Other): 15 / 30 / 0
Lecturer: dr inż. Sebastian Opaliński
Language of instruction: English
Learning outcomes: Knowledge: The objective of the course is to familiarize students with the general toxicology, definition and types of the poison, definition of the dose, the routes of the uptake, deposition and excretion of the poison in the organism, complex effect of the poison etc.; students should have ability to describe poisoning of drugs, metals, chemical compounds, solvents and pesticides. Furthermore they should describe the industrial emission (dust, gases) and accumulation of the toxins within the trophic chain, as well as the problems of the intensive use of the fertilizers and pesticides. Students should have a knowledge about – toxic alkaloids, mycotoxins, nitrates and nitrites, trace elements and other chemicals supplements and their remains in the animal products (meat, fat, eggs, milk, honey – acceptable norms) and also the knowledge about the methods of the toxicological researches like modern ecotoxicity tests. Skills: Students properly and safely use the equipment of ecotoxicological laboratory, especially chemical reagents. Moreover students are able to use spectrophotometric methods for the determination of xenobiotics in environmental and biological samples, prepare a representative environmental sample and deal with it in order to obtain reliable results of the analysis, calculate toxic doses and describe the effects of xenobiotics poisoning, perform modern ecotoxicity tests.
Competences: Social skills (attitude): Students follow the instructions and follow the rules according to the safety and health procedures in laboratory. Moreover, students have a responsibility for the entrusted laboratory equipment and are aware of the responsibility for the tasks commonly performed in the research team.
Prerequisites: chemistry, biochemistry, environmental protection
Course content: Problems of the influence of the industrial contamination on the livestock and on the health of the animals as well as accumulation of the toxins in the animal materials and products, the effect of the intensive use of the fertilizers and pesticides on the toxicity of the feed, modern ecotoxicity tests and special ecotoxicological issues.
Recommended literature: 1. Wright D. A., Welbourn P. 2002: Environmental toxicology. Cambridge University Press. 2. Walker C. H., Hopkin S. P., Sibly R. M., Peakall D. B. 2005: Principles of Ecotoxicology. Third edition. CRC Press. 3. Senczuk W. 2002. Toxicology. PZWL, Warsaw. 4. Hoffman D. J. et al. 2003. Handbook of Ecotoxicology. CRC Press. 5. Matthews G. A. 2006: Pesticides: Health, Safety and the Environment. Blackwell Publ. Ltd. 6. DeVries J. W., Trucksess M. W., Jackson L.S. (ed.) 2002: Mycotoxins and Food Safety. in: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol.504. Kluwer Academic.
Assessment methods: Passing grade of laboratory course (reports and test) and written exam (selected subjects of lectures)
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