BIOS9412 – Toxicants in Ecosystems and Humans: Exposure and Accumulation
Course description
Schedule, syllabus and examination date
Course content
The course gives insight into how toxicants are taken up by humans and organisms in the environment, accumulation in organisms and food chains, as well as effects on human health and the environment, with a particular focus on individual effects. Toxicants affect many of the same processes in different organisms and the course will discuss similarities and differences between different species. The course includes an ecosystem approach and includes aspects of both ecotoxicology and human toxicology.
Learning outcome
The course will provide in-depth knowledge of how toxicants are distributed in the environment and different ecosystems, and how they accumulate in plants, animals and humans.
After completing the course, you will have knowledge:
- concerning important drivers for distribution and accumulation of toxicants, including environmental, chemical, physical, physiological and ecological factors.
- about different methods used to monitor the toxicant exposure in ecosystems and humans, as well as describing the extent of uptake and biomagnification.
- about exposure- and accumulation-models, statistical tools within ecotoxicology, as well as an understanding of different accumulation metrics and how to calculate them.
- Expertise in preparing an in-depth lecture on a given subject for the other students.
Admission to the course
PhD candidates from the University of Oslo should apply for classes and register for examinations through?Studentweb.
If a course has limited intake capacity, priority will be given to PhD candidates who follow an individual education plan where this particular course is included. Some national researchers’ schools may have specific rules for ranking applicants for courses with limited intake capacity.
PhD candidates who have been admitted to another higher education institution must?apply for a position as a visiting student?within a given deadline.
Master-students must register for BIOS5412 – Toxicants in Ecosystems and Humans: Exposure and Accumulation
The courses BIOS5412 and BIOS9412 have common admission. Applicants are ranked by the following criteria:
1. PhD candidates and master students at the MN faculty who have the course as part of the approved curriculum. Master students in Toxicology and environmental science are given priority.
2. Other PhD candidates, master students and visiting PhD students.
3. Students with admission to single courses on master’s level and exchange students.
Applicants are ranked by credits in each group; all applicants within 1st rank before applicants in 2nd etc. If admission is limited to a fixed number of participants, admission will be decided by drawing lots for students who are ranked equally.
Formal prerequisite knowledge
Recommended previous knowledge
Overlapping courses
- 10 credits overlap with BIOS5412 – Toxicants in Ecosystems and Humans: Exposure and Accumulation.
- 5 credits overlap with BIO4540 – Human Toxicology (discontinued).
- 5 credits overlap with BIO9540 – Human toxicology (discontinued).
- 5 credits overlap with BIO4550 – Ecotoxicology (discontinued).
- 5 credits overlap with BIO9550 – Ecotoxicology (discontinued).
Teaching
Lectures: 42 hrs;
Fieldwork (compulsory): 2 days;
Computer-exercises: 18 hrs;
Lab-exercises (compulsory): 6 hrs;
Discussion groups: 16 hrs.
Separate lecture: 1 hr
Participation in Health and Safety courses are required prior to lab-exercises and fieldwork.
?Approved mandatory activites?are valid for 1?year.
Attendance at the first lecture is compulsory, also for students on the waiting list. You will loose your seat in the course unless notice about absence is given to studieinfo@ibv.uio.no before the first lecture.
As?the?teaching involves laboratory and/or field work, you should consider taking out a separate travel and personal risk insurance.?Read about your insurance cover as a student.
Examination
Laboratory journal which counts 25% towards the final grade.
Final written exam which counts 75 % towards the final grade.
Mandatory course work must be approved before you can sit the final exam.
Exam attempts
It will also be counted as one of the three attempts to sit the exam for this course, if you sit the exam for one of the following courses:?BIOS5412 – Toxicants in Ecosystems and Humans: Exposure and Accumulation.?
Examination support material
Calculator
Language of examination
You may write your examination paper in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish or English.
Grading scale
Grades are awarded on a pass/fail scale. Read more about the grading system.
Resit an examination
This course offers both postponed and resit of examination. Read more:
More about examinations at UiO
- Use of sources and citations
- Special exam arrangements due to individual needs
- Withdrawal from an exam
- Illness at exams / postponed exams
- Explanation of grades and appeals
- Resitting an exam
- Cheating/attempted cheating
You will find further guides and resources at the web page on examinations at UiO.