300473 PP Heavy metal stress: ecology of organisms (2008S)

.)the practical course takes place in the laboratories of the "Cell Imaging and Ultrastructure Research Unit" in the Biocenter Althanstrasse. The schedule will be determined at the starting meeting.
.)the results of the practical course will be discussed through guided and independent bibliographical research, summarized in a protocol, and presented in a final seminar.
The project laboratory course deals with natural and man-made heavy metal habitats and their organisms. Heavy metals will be analysed in animals and plants:
"by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) by X-ray microanalysis (EDX)
"by Light Microscopy (LM) and specific fluorescent dyes and markers
"in the Austrian Research Center Seibersdorf by atomic absorption spectral photometry (AAS) and inductive coupled plasma - atomic emission spectral analysis (ICP - AES).
The geophysical situation of the habitats and the specialized organisms that have developed on these toxic soils, will be discussed. Methods of analysis will be explained and applied individually. This should lead to a better understanding of the organism's resistance to toxic soil and their strategies of survival.
This knowledge can be deepened and applied in practice within the scope of an excursion to heavy metal habitats. This excursion can be found as a separate item in the university catalog.