300139 VO Principles of Aquatic Ecotoxicology (2015W)

Aquatic ecotoxicology is concerned with the study of toxic effects, caused by natural and synthetic pollutants, to the constituents of ecosystems - from microbes to landscapes - in an integrated context. The objective of this course is to understand and eventually be able to predict effects of chemicals on aquatic organisms and communities under various exposure conditions. Theoretical insights and methods drawn from ecology and toxicology are needed to achieve this objective. Introducing the concept of eco-toxicology, students will learn about the integrative and interdisciplinary nature of chemicals and organisms in aquatic ecology. Subsequently, factors influencing bioaccumulation of contaminants including uptake, transformation, detoxification, elimination, will be introduced and discussed. The fate of assimilated contaminant concentrations from one trophic level to the next (principles of biomagnification) depends on chemical properties and food web structures. Moreover, students will learn that all toxicant effects begin by interacting with biomolecules. These effects cascade through biochemical > cellular > tissue > individual > population > ecosystem levels of organization. Understanding of effects at the biochemical level provides crucial insight into the root cause of effects seen at the next higher levels. In the final class, we will discuss that processes of aquatic ecotoxicology are borderless and in fact include all ecosystems. It will be shown that contaminants cross ecosystems and affect organisms of seemingly pristine systems, including humans. This course provides knowledge of how chemicals interact with organisms at various levels of ecosystem organization.