- Percorsi di studio
- Master's Degree in COASTAL AND MARINE BIOLOGY AND ECOLOGY
- ENVIRONMENTAL PHYSIOLOGY
ENVIRONMENTAL PHYSIOLOGY
- Teaching in italian
- ENVIRONMENTAL PHYSIOLOGY
- Teaching
- ENVIRONMENTAL PHYSIOLOGY
- Subject area
- BIO/09
- Reference degree course
- COASTAL AND MARINE BIOLOGY AND ECOLOGY
- Course type
- Master's Degree
- Credits
- 6.0
- Teaching hours
- Frontal Hours: 50.0
- Academic year
- 2024/2025
- Year taught
- 2025/2026
- Course year
- 2
- Language
- ENGLISH
- Curriculum
- Curriculum Marine Biology and Ecology
Teaching description
basic knowledge of general physiology
The course analyzes the physiological responses of animals to the environmental variability. Moreover, it focuses the attention on the physiological responses to chemical pollution exposure and on their application in environmental biomonitoring
The objective of the course is to provide students the basic knowledge of the environmental physiology (physiological responses to the variability of the environmental factors), and to gain a sound background in the physiological responses of animals to environmental pollutants and in their application in the ecotoxicological monitoring.
Lectures (5 CFU, 40h) and practicals (1 CFU, 10 h)
The assessment ìs performed by oral examination. In particular, the examination consists of an oral presentation of 15 min (with a power point support) about one of arguments included in the first part of the course: omeostasis, acclimatization, osmoregulation, gas exchange, physiological responses to temperatue variations) followed by an oral test on the arguments included in the second part of the course (responses of the organisms to pollutiants).
The attribution of the final score will take into account: the level of theoretical and practical knowledge acquired (50%), the ability to apply the acquired knowledge (30%), autonomy of judgment (10%), of communication skills (10%).
First part
-Internal environment and external environment
-Physiological responses to environmental variability.
-Conformists and regulators
-Homeostasis
-Range of tolerance and resistance
-Adaptation and acclimatization
-Temperature limits for living organisms, adaptations to extreme temperatures
-Heat exchanges between the organism and the external environment
-Determinants of body heat
-Endothermic and ectothermic organisms
-Thermal homeostasis
-Water exchanges between the organism and the external environment
-Osmoregulation in aquatic environments.
-Osmoregulation in terrestrial environments
-Gas exchange between the organism and the environment
-Respiration in aquatic and terrestrial environments
- Homeostatic control of oxygen concentration
Second part
-Organisms and environmental chemical pollutants
-Absorption, distribution, metabolism, accumulation, and escretion of chemical pollutants
-Detoxification mechanisms
-Effect of pollutants on proteins and nucleic acids
-Oxidative stress and exposure to environmental chemical pollutants
-Endocrine disruptors
-Toxicity testing
-Biomarkers and their application in environmental biomonitoring
- P. Willmer, G. Stone, I. Johnston. Environmental Physiology of Animals. Blackwell Publishing
-W.C.H. Hopkin, S.P.Sibly, R.M. Peakall. Principles of Ecotoxicology. Taylor and Francis
Semester
Exam type
Compulsory
Type of assessment
Oral - Final grade
Course timetable
https://easyroom.unisalento.it/Orario