Ecotoxicology and Environmental Quality

Course manual 2025/2026

Course content

Research projects practical

We aim to link the practical projects as much as possible to ongoing research, supervised by the responsible researchers. This year 4 projects are available:

1. Understanding toxicity differences among structurally similar herbicides (Bianca Stadelmann)
2. Ecotoxicity of herbicide transformation products (Isa Vlugt)
3. Environmental gradient in a rewetted polder bordering a former garbage dump (Oswin van der Scheer)
4. Ecotoxicity of urban sediment and surface water (Lotte van den Hout)

Learning objectives practical:

• The ability to design, plan and perform laboratory ecotoxicity tests.
• The ability to interpret the results of laboratory ecotoxicity tests and to relate these to literature data.
• The ability to design a conference poster and to defend it during a poster session.

Study materials

Syllabus

• Environmental Toxicology: an open online textbook

  https://maken.wikiwijs.nl/147644/Environmental_Toxicology__an_open_online_textbook

Other

• During the course documents will be available on Canvas.

Objectives

• The ability to name the sources of environmental contaminants
• The ability to describe the fate of environmental contaminants
• The ability to explain the processes that determine the bioavailability and accumulation of environmental contaminants by organisms
• The ability to identify the modes of action of toxicants
• The ability to quantify the effects of environmental contaminants on organisms
• The ability to apply concepts and methods for assessing mixture toxicity
• The ability to analyse the effects of multiple stressors on organisms and ecosystems
• The ability to explain and apply biomonitoring, ecotoxicological risk assessment en environmental legislation
• The ability to critically evaluate the methods and techniques related to the above mentioned specific learning objectives and to propose recommendations for improvements

Teaching methods

• Lecture
• Seminar
• Laptop seminar
• Computer lab session/practical training
• Presentation/symposium
• Self-study
• Supervision/feedback meeting

Learning activities

Attendance

Additional requirements for this course:

Participation in the practical and seminars is required before the final grade of the course can be awarded. Students who did not attend the practical must attend these in the next academic year in order to complete the course. It is strongly recommended that students attend all lectures.

Assessment

A 5.0 or higher must be obtained for the poster and for the exam. The weighted average (exam 67%; poster 33%) should be 5.5 or higher. 

The posters are evaluated by a 'poster evaluating committee', made up of scientists who were not involved in the preparation of the posters. The poster evaluation form including all criteria concerned can be found on Canvas. In addition to the poster, the oral defense, mutual cooperation and work attitude during the practical are also included in the evaluation of the poster.

Inspection of assessed work

Contact the course coordinator to make an appointment for inspection.

Assignments

Posterpresentation

• Conference posters reporting on the experiments executed during the practical will be produced by groups of five to six students. The poster submission deadline is on Friday 24 January 2025 at 5 p.m. Posters will be presented on Thursday 30 January 2025. The best poster will be submitted to an international conference.

Fraud and plagiarism

The 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' applies to this course. This will be monitored carefully. Upon suspicion of fraud or plagiarism the Examinations Board of the programme will be informed. For the 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' see: www.student.uva.nl

Course structure

Additional information

There is a maximum of 55 students for this course.

Contact information

Coordinator

• prof. dr. M.H.S. Kraak