Bi7520 Aquatic Ecotoxicology

Faculty of Science
Autumn 2011 - acreditation

The information about the term Autumn 2011 - acreditation is not made public

Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 2 credit(s) (plus extra credits for completion). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
doc. Mgr. Klára Hilscherová, Ph.D. (lecturer)
prof. Ing. Blahoslav Maršálek, CSc. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
prof. RNDr. Ivan Holoubek, CSc.
RECETOX – Faculty of Science
Contact Person: doc. Mgr. Klára Hilscherová, Ph.D.
Prerequisites (in Czech)
NOW( Bi7520c Aquatic Ecotoxicology - pr. )
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
After this course, students should be able to:
- define aquatic ecotoxicology and discuss its basic principles;
- classify the aquatic environment according to its characteristics;
- characterize main water properties and their relation to the state of the ecosystem;
- recognize main aquatic contaminants;
- discuss factors affecting bioavailibility and fate of pollutants in the aquatic environment;
- propose and interpret tests for evaluation of toxicity in aquatic environment also in legislative context;
- plan sampling strategies for various biotic and abiotic matrices;
- assess characteristics, contamination and ecotoxicity of sediments;
- interpret the results of bioindication and biomonitoring in aquatic environment;
- evaluate the potential effects of stressors on ecosystem level;
- explain principles of the Water Framework Directive – evaluation of chemical and ecological status;
- compare the various approaches for waste water treatment;
- recognize and discuss up-to-date problems of aquatic environment – such as new types of pollutants, endocrine disruption, cyanobacterial water blooms;
- assess the influence of multiple stressors in aquatic ecosystems;
Syllabus
  • 1) Introduction and the goals of class, basic terminology and definitions, classification of waters, components of aquatic ecosystem
  • 2) Characteristics of water, stratification in reservoirs and rivers, types of flow, carbonates, redox potential a pH in ecotoxicology of aquatic ecosystems, circulation of major biogenous elements
  • 3) Factors affecting bioavailability and fate of compounds in the aquatic environment
  • 4) Tests of toxicity in aquatic environment. Laboratory and field models, sources of variability and uncertainty, legislative context
  • 5) Fish in aquatic system - reproduction, population structure, embryotoxicity, bioaccumulation, bioconcentration. Methods, organisms suitable for evaluation of bioaccumulation of xenobiotics in aquatic systems, tests, data analysis, interpretation
  • 6) Sampling of plankton, benthos, fish communities, macrophytes, sediments, water. Discrete, continuous and passive sampling (SPMD, DGT, POCIS etc.)
  • 7) Sediments as memory of aquatic ecosystems - advantages, disadvantages, sampling, storage, detection of toxicity, fauna and flora of sediments, interpretations
  • 8) Adaptation and oscillation – impact of flow, light, season
  • 9) Ecosystem ecotoxicology – parameters and variability (production, biodiversity, population and community). Mezocosms, microcosms, field studies
  • 10) Bioindications and biomonitoring – suitable parameters for biomonitoring, biotic and diversity indexes, bioindication in EU
  • 11) Water Framework Directive 2000/60 EEC – system, types of monitoring, actual situation in CR
  • 12) Waste water treatment - types, treatment steps, alternative systems for elimination of pollution in aquatic environment
  • 13) Up-to-date problems of aquatic environment – regional and global, cyanobacterial water blooms, cyanotoxins, causes, consequence, effect on aquatic organisms
  • 14) Pharmaceuticals and personal care products as pollutants in aquatic ecosystems, fate, effects
  • 15) Endocrine disruption in aquatic animals, mechanisms of effects, endocrine disruptors, consequences of disruption, effects in aquatic invertebrates and vertebrates
  • 16) Global changes and aquatic ecosystems, changes in biodiversity, amphibian decline
Literature
  • Rand, G.M. Fundamentals of aquatic toxicology. Taylor and Francis, 1995, Washington D.C.
  • Hill, I.R. et al. Freshwater field tests for hazard assessment of chemicals. CRC Press, 1994m Boca Raton, Florida.
  • HARTMAN, Pavel, Ivo PŘIKRYL and Eduard ŠTĚDRONSKÝ. Hydrobiologie. 2. přeprac. vyd. Praha: INFORMATORIUM, 1998, 335 s. ISBN 80-86073-27-0. info
Teaching methods
The classes are composed of lectures and associated discussions.
Assessment methods
Examination usually takes place at the end of each semester or when the course is completed. The final evaluation is based on a written test.
Language of instruction
Czech
Follow-Up Courses
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
The course can also be completed outside the examination period.
The course is taught annually.
The course is taught: every week.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2007 - for the purpose of the accreditation, Autumn 2010 - only for the accreditation, Autumn 2002, Autumn 2003, Autumn 2004, Autumn 2005, Autumn 2006, Autumn 2007, Autumn 2008, Autumn 2009, Autumn 2010, Autumn 2011, Autumn 2012, Autumn 2013, Autumn 2014, Autumn 2015, Autumn 2016, autumn 2017, Autumn 2018.