SYLLABUS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY BIOL 533

DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY MORGAN STATE UNIVERSITY

by Jonathan E.H. Wilson, Ph. D. Original, September, 2000 (Modified 8, 2004)

J. E. H. Wilson 9/2004

INTRODUCTION: Environmental toxicology is a multidisciplinary science that is rapidly evolving. It is essentially the study of the effects of toxicants on man, animals and the environment. In this course, students will be introduced to environmental toxicology with emphasis on the study of various toxicants, their chemical and physical characteristics, their fate and effects, toxicity testing methods, and factors modifying toxicity of chemicals in organisms and the environment. Ecotoxicology, environmental health and risk assessment will be introduced. OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this course are as follows: Introduce students to the rapidly evolving field of environmental toxicology. Provide students with a working knowledge of the principles, general concepts and techniques in the field of environmental toxicology. Emphasize the interdisciplinary nature of environmental toxicology. Introduce students to the different types of environmental toxicants and how they interact with the natural environment , animals and man. Prepare students for advanced studies in the field of environmental toxicology and chemistry.

TEXT BOOK: Introduction to Environmental Toxicology Impact of Chemicals upon Ecological Systems, 3rd edition by Wayne G. Landis and Ming-Ho Yu. 2004. Lewis Publishers, Inc. (a CRC Press Company). Supplemental Texts: Basic Environmental Toxicology, edited by L.G. Cockerham and B. S. Shane. 1994. C R C Press, Inc. Fundamentals of Aquatic Toxicology - Methods and Applications, edited by G. M. Rand and S. R. Petrocelli, 1985, Hemisphere Publishing Company/ Taylor and Francis. Fundermentals of Aquatic Toxicology Effects, Environmental Fate, and Risk Assessment. 2nd Edition. G.M. Rand, Editor. 1995. Taylor & Francis, Washington DC. Other References: Peterle, T.J., 1991. Wildlife Toxicology. Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York. Hoffman, D. J., B. A. Rattner, G. A. Burton, Jr., and J. Cairns, Jr. 1995. Handbook of Ecotoxicology. Lewis Publishers. Burton, G. A. Jr., 1992. Sediment Toxicity Assessment. Lewis Publishers Inc. Environmental Toxicology and Risk Assessment - various volumes; published by American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). See especially Volumes 3 - 7. ASTM 2000 Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Volume 11.05. Biological Effects and Environmental Fate; Biotechnology; Pesticides. Various Journal Articles from Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, Risk Assessment, and Environmental Pollution journals will be required. Details of these will be given at the beginning of class each semester. Taylor, M.D., F.p. Carvalho, D. Barcelo and J. Everaarts. 2003. Pesticide Residues in Coastal Tropical Ecosystems Distribution, Fate and Effects. Taylor & Francis, New York. General and Applied Toxicology 2nd edition. B. Ballantyne, T. Marrs and T. Syverson, Editors. Vols. 1, 2, & 3. Groves Dictionaries Inc., 1999. New York. MEETING TIMES: Tuesdays, 5:00 to 7:50 P.M.

J. E. H. Wilson 9/2004

MEETING ROOM: Spencer Room 109 ATTENDANCE: Students are expected to be present at ALL lectures, discussions, Laboratory exercises, field trips and other activities related to this course. Unexcused absences will not be encouraged. Therefore make-up examinations/tests etc, will be given only in cases of extreme emergencies as defined in the university manual and the Biology Departments Class attendance Policy. ASSIGNMENTS: Students will be given class work, home work, quizzes and examination periodically. Each student will be required to write reviews of selected journal articles or extended abstracts together with a term paper and also give an oral presentation of the research reported in the term paper. The essay MUST BE TYPED, be at least 10 pages long and contain no less than FOUR journal articles in the reference section and cited in the text of the term paper. Details of the format for the term paper will be given at the beginning of class. The essay, abstracts and oral presentation are intended to help enhance the information management and communication skills of the students. EVALUATION: Every assignment, test, pop quiz, scheduled examination, homework, class participation, oral and written reports etc will count towards the final grade. Students are expected to take every assignment seriously. The following key will be used to determine the final grade: Percentage 90 - 100 80 - 89 70 - 79 0 - 69 Letter Grade A B C F

Breakdown of the final grade will be as follows: 1. 2. 3. 4. Three (3) scheduled examinations (other than the final) Homework, pop quizzes, class participation etc. 20% 30%

Laboratory/ field trip reports, term paper , oral presentation, review of journal articles, extended abstracts..20% Final Examination 30%

J. E. H. Wilson 9/2004

COURSE CONTENT Introduction to Environmental Toxicology 1. An interdisciplinary science 2. A brief history of Environmental Toxicology and its Organizations 3. Fundamentals of toxicology and environmental toxicology II. A Framework for Environmental Toxicology 1. Classical viewpoints in classifying toxicological effects : physicochemical characteristics, mode of action, biochemical and molecular effects, physiological and behavioral effects etc. 2. Alternative framework incorporating complexity theory III. Introduction to toxicity testing 1. The dose-response curve 2. Standard methods - advantages and disadvantages 3. Classification of toxicity tests 4. Single species toxicity tests 5. Multispecies toxicity tests 6. Overview of statistical methods for evaluation of single species toxicity tests IV. Aquatic and wildlife toxicology 1. Daphnia 48H Acute toxicity test 2. Algae 96H Acute toxicity test 3. Acute tests with other aquatic macroinvertebrates and invertebrates 4. Terrestrial vertebrate toxicity test 5. Frog Embryo Teratogenesis Assay (FETAX) 6. Grass Shrimp Embryo-Larval Toxicity (GSELTOX) Test 7. Standard Aquatic microcosm tests 8. Other micro- and Mesocosm tests V. Routes of Exposure and Modes of Action 1. The damage process 2. Atmospheric pollutants and plants 3. Mechanism of action 4. Common modes of action in detail 5. Introduction to Quantitative Structure Activity Relationships (QSAR) VI. Factors Modifying Toxicity 1. Physicochemical properties of pollutants 2. Time and mode of exposure 3. environmental factors 4. Interaction of pollutants 5. Toxicity of mixtures VII. Toxicity of selected group of chemicals 1. Toxicity of pesticides 2. toxicity of metals 3. Toxicity of petroleum and other Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH) 4. Toxicity of solvents 5. Fluoride as Contaminant in Developing Economies VIII. Biotransformation and biomagnification 1. Introduction to biotransformation and biomagnification 2. Metabolism of environmental chemicals 3. Microbial degradation 4. Bioremediation IX. Introduction to environmental health and risk assessment I.

J. E. H. Wilson 9/2004