BIOS5412 – Toxicants in Ecosystems and Humans: Exposure and Accumulation

Schedule, syllabus and examination date

Course content

The course gives insight into how toxicants are distributed in the environment and accumulated by humans and other organisms. The course focuses on mechanisms and processes that are important to understand distribution and accumulation of toxicants and how these processes are affected by other stressors, physiological and ecological adaptations, life history traits and the phylogenetic history of the organism. The course encompasses both different ecosystems, including organisms and humans.

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.

Admission to the course

Students admitted at UiO must apply for courses in Studentweb. Students enrolled in other Master's Degree Programmes can, on application, be admitted to the course if this is cleared by their own study programme.

Nordic citizens and applicants residing in the Nordic countries may apply to take this course as a single course student.

If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures for international applicants.

PhD-candidates must register for BIOS9412 – 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's students in Toxicology and environmental science are given priority.
  2. Other PhD candidates, master students and visiting PhD candidates.
  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

HMS0503 – Laboratory Safety

HMS0504 – Field Safety

BIOS4500 – General Toxicology

BIOS1120 – Fysiologi

BIOS2100 – General Ecology

BIOS3000 – Design and analysis of biological studies

Overlapping courses

Teaching

  • Lectures
  • Fieldwork (compulsory): 2 days
  • lab exercises (compulsory)
  • Computer-exercises
  • Discussion groups

Participation in Health and Safety courses are required prior to lab-exercises and fieldwork. Mandatory course work must be approved before the student can attend the exam.

 Approved mandatory activites are valid for 1 year.

Attendance is mandatory for the first lecture. This also applies for those on the waiting list. You will lose your seat on the course if documentation for absence is not provided to the student administration studieinfo@ibv.uio.no prior to 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.

A student who has completed compulsory instruction and coursework and has had these approved, is not entitled to repeat that instruction and coursework. A student who has been admitted to a course, but who has not completed compulsory instruction and coursework or had these approved, is entitled to repeat that instruction and coursework, depending on available capacity.

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: BIOS9412 - 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 scale from A to F, where A is the best grade and F is a fail. Read more about the grading system.

Resit an examination

Students who can document a valid reason for absence from the regular examination are offered a postponed exam at the beginning of the next semester.

New examinations are offered at the beginning of the next semester for students who do not successfully complete the exam during the previous semester.

We do not offer a re-scheduled exam for students who withdraw during the exam.

More about examinations at UiO

You will find further guides and resources at the web page on examinations at UiO.

Last updated from FS (Common Student System) Mar. 19, 2024 11:36:54 AM

Facts about this course

Level
Master
Credits
10
Teaching
Autumn

The course is last held autumn 2023

Examination
Autumn

Examination is last held autumn 2025

Teaching language
English