CH2042:03
Marine Chemistry and Chemical Ecology
Townsville
Prerequisites: CH1001 CH1002
Inadmissable Subject Combination: CH3043
36 lectures, 30 hours practicals, 8 hours field work. First semester.
Staff: Dr G Jones, Assoc. Professor B Bowden.
An introductory subject on the principles of marine chemistry and marine chemical ecology. Definition and history of marine chemistry and chemical ecology. Properties and chemical composition of seawater. Major elements in seawater. Conservative and non-conservative elements. Biogeochemical cycles. Micronutrients and the nitrogen, phosphorus and silica cycles in seawater and their interaction with phytoplankton. Determination of nutrients in seawater. Eutrophication. Effects of elevated nutrients on coral reefs and water quality. Minor or trace elements in seawater, sediments and marine organisms. Bioaccumulation and biomagnification of trace elements in marine organisms. Trace element speciation and toxicity. Dissolved organic carbon and particulate organic carbon in seawater. Marine food webs and dissolved organic carbon. Ecological role of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) compounds in seawater. Chemical communication conveyed by DOC, allochemical effects, kairomones, depressants and autotoxins. Invertebrate-toxic host relationships, anemone-starfish interactions, symbiosis and mutualism, coral spawning chemistry. Drugs and other natural organic products from the sea-discovery and development of marine drugs, fatty acids, steroids, terpenes, nitrogenous compounds, fish and shellfish toxins. Potential applications of marine biotechnology-ectocrines and filter feeders, mollusc chemistry, tunichromes, metal ion sequestering and pharmacological acitivity. Introduction to marine pollution, pollutant pathways, major chemical contaminants in seawater, major sources of pollution. Heavy metal pollution, metal detoxification and ecotoxicology.
Learning Objectives:
- to understand the basic principles of marine chemistry;
- to understand ecology in terms of chemical interactions;
- to introduce the study of marine pollution.
Assessment by a three-hour examination (60%); laboratory practicals, assignment and fieldwork (40%).