The course of Geoclimatology and Environment aims at providing PhD students with the advanced theoretical and practical knowledge in the fields of Geology and Environment and their mutual interactions. The course is divided into three modules: Paleoclimatology, Modelling, and Environment.

Environmental science is indissolubly integrated with the Geological and the Natural Sciences and is an interdisciplinary field that brings together ecology, geology, meteorology, biology, chemistry, engineering. It integrates different scientific methodological approaches to unravel and tackle world environmental challenges.

The present module - Environment - therefore aims to:

1) introduce the main environmental issues affecting marine ecosystems;

2) provide basic knowledge on the application of bioindicators (e.g., benthic foraminifera) to assess the quality of the environment and how it changes over time;

3) present methodologies and protocols for biomonitoring the environmental quality in marine and transitional marine waters and to the environmental biomonitoring.

Introduction to Marine Environments, Pollution and Bioindicators (1 hour)

Biomonitoring (2 hours)

Protocol for biomonitoring (1 hour)

Application of metabarcoding to environmental biomonitoring (1 hour)

Ecotoxicology (1 hour)

Biotic indices and Ecological Quality Status (1 hour)

Ecological indices calculation (0.5 h)

Topic presentation (0.5 h)

Knowledge and understanding. Upon completion of the course, students should have acquired fundamental knowledge in the field of environmental biomonitoring.

Applying knowledge and understanding. Students should be able to correctly use specific terminology and basic knowledge of the application of bioindicators. Specifically, they should be able to calculate ecological indices to assess ecological quality.

Making judgments. Students should be able to critically evaluate the results obtained from the calculation of ecological indices and verify their accuracy.

Communication skills. Students should be able to present their results using correct scientific language and in English.

Learning skills. Students should be able to build their own scientific career path critically and independently, using the knowledge they have acquired. These skills will be encouraged by the instructor whenever possible through in-depth discussions.

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

Supporting teaching activities and ongoing assessment are not foreseen. At the end of each topic, self-assessment activities will be carried out (structured tests with answer key) to allow students to evaluate their level of understanding and preparation of the topics.

Teaching

The course includes:

- frontal lectures

- preparation of a presentation on the applications of bioindicators in environmental biomonitoring;

- use of statistical software for diversity indices calculation

Innovative teaching methods

The teaching method will be enriched with exercises (i.e., calculating indices for assessing the ecological quality status) and in-depth individual and group discussions that students will carry out using the University's Moodle platform.

Attendance

Attending the course is not an obligation, but it is strongly recommended.

Assessment

The assessment consists of an oral exam with three open questions including comments on graphs and figures and takes in account the PhD student presentation. 

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Teaching

The course includes:

- frontal lectures

- preparation of a presentation on the applications of bioindicators in environmental biomonitoring;

- use of statistical software for diversity indices calculation

Attendance

Attending the course is not an obligation, but it is strongly recommended.

Assessment

The assessment consists of an oral exam with three open questions including comments on graphs and figures and takes in account the PhD student presentation. 

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.