Guia docente 2023_24 Facultad de Ciencias del Mar

Contents

Topic	Sub-topic
Basic concepts	1. Introduction. Pollution, anthropogenic process. Pollution: deleterious effects. Environmental Quality Criteria and Standards. PBT substances. Sources, distribution and fate of pollutants in the marine compartments.
Urban and agriculture pollutants	2. Organic pollution. Sources: liquid wastes. Estimating the organic load in wastewaters and receiving waters: BOD, COD, TOC. Excess of organic matter: hypoxia and annoxia. 3. Pollution by excess of inorganic nutrients. Nitrogen and phosphorus in the marine environment; anthropogenic sources. Eutrophication and hypereutrophication. Detergents. 4. Microbial pollution. Pathogenic microorganisms present in marine waters. Microbiological analysis of water and shellfish. Self-depuration of natural waters. Disinfection of wastewaters.
Industrial pollutants	5. Hydrocarbons. Oil. Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons. Sources and weathering of oil in the sea. Effects on marine organisms. Oil spills, lessons learnt. 6. Organohalogenated pollutants. Organochlorine pesticides: sources and levels in the marine compartments; bioaccumulation and biomagnification. Toxicity. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Polybrominated campounds (PBDEs); sources and levels in the marine compartments; toxicity. Dioxins and dibenzofurans. 7. Trace metals I. Background levels and enrichment factors. Distribution in the oceans. Mercury: Sorces, distribution, bioaccumulation and biomagnification. Toxicity. Methylmercury. 8. Trace metals II. Copper, lead, cadmium. Sources, concentrations in marine compartments, toxicity. Trobutyltin (TBT).
Ecotoxicology	9. Distribution of pollutants in the environment. Fugacity models. Environmental persistence and half-life. Biodegradation. Chemical speciation and bioavailability of metals. 10. Bioaccumulation. Toxicokinetics. Uptake, accumulation and biotransformation of pollutants in the organisms. Bioconcentration factor (BCF). First order kinetic bioaccumulation models. Thermodynamic bioaccumulation models, Kow. 11. Molecular and cellular responses to pollutants: biomarkers. Biotransformation and elimination of toxic chemicals. Lisosomal alterations. Metallothioneins and stress proteins. Cytochrome P450. Enzymatic alterations. 12. Lethal and sublethal toxicity. Basic principles of toxicology. Dose:response curves. LC50/EC50 and toxicity threshold. Time and other factors affecting toxicity. Effects on reproduction and development. Effects on the bioenergetics and growth. 13. Effects of pollution at population and community levels. Changes in the presence and abundance of populations. Bioindicators by presence and ausence. Biological indices in communities.
Manage¡ing and assessing marine environmental quality	14. Integrative assessment of marine pollution. Coastal pollution monitoring programs. Integration of chemical and biological methods. Use of wild organisms as bioindicators and laboratory bioassays. The mussel watch approach 15. Ecotoxicological bioassays. requirements and methodological aspects. Liquid phase: copepod survival, Seaurchin Embryo Test (SET). Solid phase: amphipod survival, bivalve burrowing. In situ bioassays. 16. Protection of the marine environment. I. Control at the point source discharges. Identification of priority pollutants. Evaluation of the ecological risk. Regulation of new chemical products. REACH. Regulation of complex effluents. 17. Protection of the marine environment. II. Control of the levels of pollutants in receiving waters. Sediment and Water Quality Criteria and standards. International legislation. Water Framework Directive. Marine Strategy Framework Directive.