Ecotoxicology

Human activity, including the use of technology, causes pollution that contributes to the triple planetary crisis and hinders sustainable development. The course hence focuses on pollution to air, water and soil, the global spread of pollution and subsequent exposure and ecotoxic effects of pollutants in plants, animals, including humans, and ecosystems. Furthermore, the processes of risk assessment and restriction of emerging pollutants as well as the impacts of products throughout their life cycle, such as plastic (from production to end of life) are discussed.

The following topics are included: General introduction to ecotoxicology and environmental toxicology, organic pollutants, emerging pollutants, metals in the environments, fate of pollutants in ecosystems, sources and global transport, biological and biochemical effects of pollutants, toxicokinetics, biomarkers and biomonitoring, endocrine disruption, effects on individuals and populations, changes in communities and ecosystems, factors affecting toxicity, mixtures and climate change, plastic pollution, noise pollution, light pollution, adverse outcome pathways and ecological risk assessment.

The course gives an introduction to ecotoxicology, i.e., knowledge of exposure and effects of environmental pollutants on natural biological systems (molecules, cells, organisms, species, populations and ecosystems):

Skills:

• Ability to apply acquired knowledge to understand how pollutants are spread in the nature, and how they affect biological systems in nature.
• Ability to apply acquired knowledge to reduce or hinder harmful effects of pollutants on biological systems and bioresources.

General competence:

• Basic knowledge on how different groups of contaminants are spread in the nature, taken up and excreted by the organisms, and the toxic and ecotoxic effects on pollutants on biological systems and bioresources.
• Basic knowledge on ecological risk assessment.

Lectures and seminars (obligatory attendance of 3 seminars)