Students are expected to attend and participate in all classes. Each student is required to lead a critical discussion of a journal article at least once during the semester.  Each student is also required to write a paper and give an oral presentation on an assigned/approved topic.   The approved topic will focus on some aspect of aquatic environmental health.   The paper should be formatted similar to a journal article.

Course grades :
Grades will be based on class participation, discussions, and "pop quizes" (25%), the critical discussion of a journal article (25%), and both an oral and written presentation of an assigned topic on aquatic environmental health (50%).

Learning objectives:
Students in this course will be able to:

• Describe the different types of aquatic environments and respective biota;
• Discern outcomes, in a broad sense, of natural and anthopogenically-accelerated environmental change on aquatic systems;
• Know sources and understand mechanisms of infection for various waterborne diseases;
• Recognize a variety of contaminants that can enter aquatic systems and understand the mechanism by which variety of biota may be affected;
• Critically review scientific literature; and
• Organize and present well-synthesized scientific discussion on topics relevant to environmental health.

All students are expected to abide by the University of Florida's honor code and code of conduct.   Information pertaining to these codes can be viewed via the two website below, respectively:

http://www.dso.ufl.edu/judicial/honorcode.php
http://www.dso.ufl.edu/studentguide/studentconductcode.php

Class handouts

Water quality parameters associated with aquatic animal homeostasis
Physical properties of water (from Stryer's Biochemistry, 1981, and other images for discussion)
Oxygen and temperature (abridged from Lakewatch circular 109)
Hydrogeology of watersheds, wetlands & aquafers; groundwater contamination (Dr. James Jawitz)
Aquatic insects: Taxonomy, ecology & biocontrol case study (Dr. Jim Cuda)
Fish diversity and adaptations to water environments
Environmental regulations
Koppers Superfund site information
Scientific communications and PowerPoint presentation development
Review of toxicology principles

Journal article review assignments

The journal articles linked below are assigned for all in the class to read. All should read and be prepared to participate in discussion. The student teams (of two) assigned to present each of the respective articles will lead the discussion on their articles. One student will present the background relating to the published article, including a problem statement(s), the expertise of the author(s), the research approach and the methods used. The other student will present the research findings (data summary) and conclusions drawn by the author(s). Students teams should coordinate their presentation materials with each other. Both should, after the presentation but prior to class discussion, contribute to comments relevant to the merits or any questions regarding the research (reference to additional/outside reference materials may be required). Use of PowerPoint to provide visuals from the article or from other references is encouraged, as needed. The formal portion of the presentation should last approximately 15 minutes. After the presentation, both students will entertain questions and discussion from the class. Presentations will take place on February 25 and March 17, 2008.

Course Presentation Assignments

Students have chosen topics germane to water biology and public health to present to the class. The content of these presentations are in important part of the course, and complement lectures and discussions lead by Dr. Kane and guest lecturers with expertise in a variety of related disciplines. This assignment also provides an important opportunity to develop well-organized scientific presentations. Please refer to the handout on Scientific Communications for a review of our class discussion on developing PowerPoint-aided presentations.

Presentations are expected to take 20-25 minutes, with 15 minutes for the formal presentation and 5-10 minutes for class questions and discussion. Please take advantage of the full 15 minute time slot without going over the time limit. Students are expected with provide an emailed draft of their presentation a minimum of two weeks prior to their presentation date for review and comments. Students will make appointments to go over the draft materials in person. Additional time slots may be required and/or requested, so please provide the draft material as soon as possible. Remember that a notable percentage of the course grade is based on these presentations (both the class presentation as well as the written version). These student-based course contributions will take place on April 7th, April 14th and April 21st, 2008. Specific presentation dates are indicated in the table below.