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Ecotoxicology

Module description

This module offers you the opportunity to study the impacts of chemicals on wildlife and human health. It provides an excellent grounding on the basic principles of how chemicals alter the way our bodies work and what the implications for exposure to various pollutants are for wildlife health. Ecotoxicology is highly interdisciplinary and this module will cover aspects of environmental biology and chemistry, animal physiology, behaviour, molecular biology, and risk assessment. The module is taught by world leading researchers in ecotoxicology with specialisms in areas including chemical mechanisms, endocrine disruption and plastics pollution. 

Module aims - intentions of the module

This module aims to develop your awareness of the major current theories and concepts in the field of ecotoxicology. The intention is to give you a critical understanding of the physiological responses of organisms to chemicals that are discharged in the environment, with a special emphasis on the aquatic environment. You will gain an appreciation of how (the mechanisms) chemicals affect reproduction, growth and development, and behaviour, and the implications for some of these effects on populations.  The module also aims to develop your understanding of the current methods for assessing the hazardous nature of chemicals discharged into the environment.  Pharmaceuticals form a particular focus here. The module will provide the forum for you to develop a broad appreciation of the issue of endocrine disruption in wildlife as a consequence of exposure to chemicals that mimic hormones.

Through the use of lectures, student seminars and directed reading, the module also aims to develop the ability to interpret, debate, review, and summarise quantitative data relating to ecotoxicology. The module assignments utilise self-study and transferable/generic skills (e.g. written and oral presentation skills). This module will suit students with interests in ecotoxicology, aquatic pollution and the environment.

Accessibility Statement:

Some of the in-person teaching sessions are interactive and can involve informal group work (although students are welcome to work alone during these). The coursework is a time-limited data handling paper, requiring interpretation of experimental design and results/figures, designed to replicate assessments for scientific jobs at interview.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Outline and critically analyse the basic concepts of ecotoxicology
• 2. Discuss the relevance and importance of the effects of chemical on ecological systems
• 3. Critically evaluate the effects of chemicals at different levels of the organisational hierarchy (DNA to populations)
• 4. Explain how effects of chemicals on biological systems are measured and quantified in ecotoxicology
• 5. Discuss the theories, concepts and evidence of endocrine disruption
• 6. Contrast the view of ecotoxicology from industry and environment protection groups
• 7. Explain the wider social and environmental implications of the area of study

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 8. Evaluate in detail approaches to our understanding of environmental biology with reference to primary literature, reviews and research articles
• 9. Analyse in detail essential facts and theory in a sub-discipline of the biosciences
• 10. Analyse and evaluate independently a range of research-informed literature and synthesise research-informed examples from the literature into written work

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 11. Communicate effectively arguments, evidence and conclusions using written means in a manner appropriate to the intended audience
• 12. Devise and sustain, with little guidance, a logical and reasoned argument with sound, convincing conclusions
• 13. Analyse and evaluate appropriate data with very limited guidance in limited time

Syllabus plan

The module will cover the following interrelated topics through lectures:

• Introduction to the module and the principles of ecotoxicology
• Ecosystems and how they work and global pollution impacts
• Basic toxicological concepts and principles and the mechanistic basis of ecotoxicology
• Endocrine disruption
• Immunotoxicity of environmental pollutants
• Biomarkers in environmental risk assessment
• Pesticides – their use and abuse
• Chemical test methods
• Beyond individual effects
• Plastics: marine litter
• Plastics and human health
• Human drug development and testing for environmental protection
• Seminars on data handling, revision and exam preparation

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons that are approved by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. If deferred, the format and timing of the re-assessment for each of the summative assessments is detailed in the table above ('Details of re-assessment'). The mark given for a deferred assessment will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral - if you have failed the module (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) and the module cannot be condoned, you will be required to complete a re-assessment for each of the failed components on the module. The format and timing of the re-assessment for each of the summative assessments is detailed in the table above ('Details of re-assessment'). If you pass the module following re-assessment, your module mark will be capped at 40%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• C. H.Walker (4^th edition) Principles of Ecotoxicology CRC Press

Endocrine Disruption (lectures 4-5)

• Tyler, C.R., Jobling, S and Sumpter, J.P (1998). Endocrine Disruption in Wildlife: A Critical Review of the Evidence

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

• ELE page: https://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=10229 (There are many relevant references within this review. You will find a large amount of information on the web generally on endocrine disruption. Other references will be provided via ELE.)

Indicative learning resources - Other resources

• Many further references will be mentioned/provided in lectures by the various speakers

Key words search

Wildlife health, ecotoxicology, chemical mechanisms, endocrine disruption, environmental biology and chemistry, animal physiology, molecular biology