88164 - Physiology Applied to the Environment: Pollutant Impacts on Human Health and Ecosystem

Learning outcomes

The interaction between stress factors from the marine environment with animal/human physiology will be the core of the teaching course. Potential impacts of pollutants will be considered, mainly addressing emerging pollutants and new conditions generated by global change. The students will learn about: main contaminants and source of discharge; impacts on animal physiology and threats to human health; principles of environmental quality assessment using biological methods (biomarkers); knowledge on integrated monitoring plans applied at the national and international levels.

Course contents

This course is part of the WACOMA curriculum: Principles of organism-environment interaction. Ocean and Human Health. Traditional and emerging risks to human and marine animal health. Ocean pollution and ecosystem health. Animal exposure to temperature changes, acidification and emerging contaminants in the marine environment. Route of contaminant exposure: adsoprtion, distribution, metabolism (basic principles) and excretion. How chemicals harm animal cells: exposure/effect scenarios; acute toxicity, chronic toxicity. Dose response relationships, non-conventional dose-response relationships. The critical importance of marine monitoring for human health and saveguard of ecosystems. Biomarker responses to environmental factors in marine sentinel organisms (invertebrates and fish). Biomonitoring plans in the marine environment.

Readings/Bibliography

Dedicated Chapters of some books and suggested papers:

BOOK: Contaminants of Emerging Concern in the Marine Environment: Current Challenges in Marine Pollution, Editors: Victor Leon, Juan Bellas, Elsevier 2023

BOOK: An Introduction to Toxicology. Philip C. Burcham. Springer (available online)

Teaching methods

Frontal lessons and lab practices

Assessment methods

The final exam aims at evaluating the achievement of the teaching objectives by verifying the knowledge on: Ocean and Human Health. Traditional and emerging risks to human and marine animal health. Route of contaminant exposure. How chemicals harm animal cells. The critical importance of marine monitoring for human health and saveguard of ecosystems. Biomarker responses. Development of Biomonitoring plans in the marine environment. The (written) exam will focus on three specific questions on the different topics covered. The questions are open-ended questions to which the student will be asked to provide concise but pertinent answers. A question on a general topic, one on a more focused aspects and one on the organization of an environmental assessment / monitoring action.

Teaching tools

Power point slides, scientific papers, lab manuals

Office hours

See the website of Elena Fabbri

See the website of Marilin Profita