Aquatic Ecology/Toxicology and Lab Course Development

This award was to develop and offer a course in “Aquatic Ecology/Toxicology & Lab” through the Department of Biology at the University of New Mexico (UNM). The course was designed as an elective disciplinary course for the Master of Water Resources Administration (MWRA) program at UNM. The MWRA program emphasizes: 1) interdisciplinary breadth in the numerous fields related to water issues; and 2) written and oral skills necessary for effective interdisciplinary communication. The course in Aquatic Ecology/Toxicology (3 credit-hours) was designed to provide non-biology graduates with the basic biological/ecological concepts and principles that control the fate of inorganic and organic chemicals in the environment. The course was designed for current practitioners in water-related fields and students in the MWRA program, but was open to biology majors also. The course could be taken without the associated one-hour laboratory. The lab was designed to provide persons not having laboratory experience with hands-on experience in the methods and associated instrumentation used in biological/ecological investigations of water issues. Eight students completed the course, while three students completed the lab section.