Courses / Department of Life Sciences

Training Course in Tools in environmental toxicology: assessing the impact of contaminants

General Objectives of the Course

Acquisition of knowledge and skills about tools in environmental toxicology to assess the impacts of contaminants on ecosystems. The course uses a multidisciplinary and “hands-on” approach to raise awareness of the existence of a range of tools available at different levels of biological organization for soil and aquatic organisms representative of key functional and of key taxonomic groups.

Admission Requirements

Free. Preference: 1st cycle (ongoing/concluded) in the scientific areas of Biology, Ecology, Environmental Sciences. Target audience: undergraduate, master and PhD students, researchers, and professionals of the scientific area.

Candidates should check the admission requirements available on this site, in addition to the information provided here.

Mode of Study

Face-to-face

Teaching / Evaluation language(s)

Portuguese/English

Examination Regulations, Assessment and Grading

Final grade: Quantitative: 0 – 20; Attendance (30%), Continuous evaluation (35%), Autonomous work (35%)

Learning Objectives and Intended Skills

Understand the importance of environmental toxicology as one of the lines of evidence available to assess anthropogenic effects on ecosystems and the advantages of its integration with other lines of evidence (e.g. chemistry, ecology), and its alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda of the United Nations. Understand the use of different environmental toxicology tools across successive levels of biological organization, as a way to carry out an integrated assessment of the effects of contaminants on ecosystems, recognizing the different degrees of complexity associated with their execution and the interpretation of the results. Acquire theoretical and practical skills on various tools, in accordance with international standardized norms/protocols, since their implementation (effects on soil microbiome, flora and fauna, effects on the microbial decomposition of litter, effects on aquatic primary producers and invertebrates, effects on pollinators, effects on sensory mechanisms between organisms, and also tests with cell lines as an alternative to vertebrate tests) up to the analysis and interpretation of results (using bioinformatics to assess genetic diversity data, calculation of abundance and diversity indices, estimation of toxicity parameters), including approaches for regulatory ecological risk assessment.

Qualification Requirements and Regulations

Rules of creation and operation of non-degree courses at the University of Coimbra

Study Programme

Ferramentas em Toxicologia Ambiental: avaliação do impacto de contaminantes

Academic year
2023-2024

Course Type
Non Degree Course

Qualification Awarded: Diploma/Certificate

Duration: 1 Semester(s)

ECTS Credits: 3.0