37362 - Ecologic Methods for the Analysis and the Management of the Environment

Learning outcomes

After completing this course, the student should have the theoretical knowledge and practical skills required to measure and predict the effects of human activities on populations, communities and ecosystems and to integrate this information in ways relevant to environmental management.

The student should be able to:

- implement bioassessment methods based on structural and functional characteristics of populations, communities, ecosystems;

- assess ecotoxicity;

- integrate information of different nature, using "weight of evidence” approaches;

- perform ecological risk assessment, both predictive and retrospective, in particular the analysis of the ecological effects of contaminants and other stressors;

- discriminate between natural variability and anthropogenic alteration and assess the impact of human activities on ecological systems, using appropriate sampling designs.

Course contents

Basic principles of experimental and samplingdesign , applied to the assessment of the impact of human activities on ecological systems:
- objectives and hypotheses;
- replication;
- sampling
- control
- interspersione

Biomonitoring methods and indices of ecological quality based on the structure of the in situ assemblages:
- the reference condition;
- RIVPACS and BEAST;
- the multimetric approach, indices of biological integrity;
- The extended biotic index (EBI);
- The MacrOper system

The experimental measurement of ecotoxicity:
- toxicity testing;
- analysis of the exposure-response relationship;
- toxicity values (EC50, NOEC, LOEC).

Assess the likelihood that one or more stressors are causing or likely to cause adverse ecological effects: the ecological risk assessment (ERA):
- the USEPA framework;
- predictive, retrospective, site-specific ERA;
- case studies;
- extrapolation of laboratory data;
- the sediment quality triad and other weight of evidence approaches.

Readings/Bibliography

Copies of the slides of the lectures.
Audio recordings of the lectures.
Papers from scientific journals and chapters from books or technical reports relating to specific case studies.

Teaching methods

Lectures.
Data analysis classes in computer room.
Both during the lectures and during the data analysis laboratories student-teacher interaction and discussion between students is actively encouraged.

Assessment methods

The learning assessment aims at a complete and balanced evaluation of the degree of achievement of all the objectives defined in the "learning outcomes" section.

The assessment is expressed as a grade up to thirty cum laude.

The final grade is a weighted average of:
grade allocated to all of the documents produced by the student during the laboratory classes (weight: 1);
grades achieved in an oral examination lasting approximately 45 minutes (weight: 5).
The weight given to the two tests is proportional to the number of credits which are respectively dedicated to laboratory activities (1 cfu) and to lectures (5 cfu).

For a complete and balanced evaluation of the achievement of the learning objectives, the oral examination is divided into three questions, each relating to one of the three fields ors which make up the contents of the course:
- basic principles of experimental and sampling design, applied to the measurement of the impact of human activities on ecological systems;
-  biomonitoring methods and ecological quality indices based on the structure of the in situ assemblages;
- experimental measurement of ecotoxicity and ecological risk assessment (ERA).

Again for a complete and balanced evaluation of the achievement of the learning objectives, laboratory classes are based on computations, statistical tests and indices which are used in the three fields previously reported.

Upon request, the opportunity to take a replacement test is given to students who were unable to attend the laboratory classes.

Teaching tools

Classroom with computer connected to video projector.
Computer room for data analysis classes.

Office hours

See the website of Andrea Pasteris