ATW 2009 Take part in short courses!

Short courses are occasions for you to keep up with new developments in your field of practice or to develop new skills. Since the needs and interests of participants are varied, the proposed training session, listed below, address a wide array of subjects.

All short courses will take place in the Fairmont Manoir Richelieu hotel, on Sunday, September 27, 2009.

Please contact Édith Lacroix, by telephone (514-283-9879) or email (edith.lacroix@ec.gc.ca) for more information.

Opportunities

1- Toxkit microbiotests: practical and low cost stock culture free bioassays for research and toxicity monitoring;

2- PETROTOX – A tool for the Hazard Assessment of Petroleum Substances;

3- Application of the CABIN biomonitoring protocol;

4- Calculation and Interpretation of Effluent Discharge Objectives for Contaminants in the Aquatic Environment  CANCELED;

5- Soyez plus créatifs grâce à la méthode des six chapeaux d’Edward de Bono (only in French)  CANCELED.

Tentative schedule

Course descriptions

1- Toxkit microbiotests: practical and low cost stock culture free bioassays for research and toxicity monitoring.

Logistics: Sunday, September 27, 9:00 – 12:30.

Instructor: Prof.em. Dr.G.Persoone.
Guido Persoone, Dr.Sc. is emeritus Professor at Ghent University in Belgium, where he was for 27 years Director of the Laboratory for Environmental Toxicology. Dr.Persoone has been a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee on Ecotoxicology of the European Union from 1981 to 1996 and chaired this Committee from 1991 to 1995. His research interests focussed specifically on the development, validation and application of "culture-maintenance free" microbiotests, which were given the generic name "Toxkits". The low cost and user-friendly Toxkits are now distributed worldwide through the spin-off company of his laboratory: MicroBioTests Inc. Dr.Persoone is the author of more than 150 papers and reports and he edited a dozen books on aquaculture, pollution, environmental toxicology, hazard assessment and biological monitoring. Prof. Persoone is presently the scientific advisor of MicroBioTests Inc. and coordinates the R&D in this company.

Description:
Bioassays for toxicity testing of chemicals and toxicity monitoring of contaminated waters or soils are dependent of the availability of the test species, which implies "year-round" culturing and maintenance of live stocks of the organisms.
During the last decades toxicity tests have been developed which are independent of the former burden. These assays which were given the generic name "Toxkits" have been miniaturised in practical and low cost microbiotests.
The Toxkit microbiotests are based on "dormant" or "immobilised" stages of the test species, which can be stored for long periods of time and from which the live test organisms can be obtained "anytime and anywhere" to perform the bioassays.
A battery of acute and short-chronic Toxkit microbiotests is now available for freshwater and marine environments and for soils, with various species representative of different trophic levels (micro-algae, protozoans, rotifers, crustaceans, higher plants). Several of these assays make use of the same test species as the "conventional" toxicity tests (e.g. micro-algae, Daphnia) and are performed according to the same test protocols.
Toxkit microbiotests are now already used in more than 40 countries worldwide for a variety of applications in research and toxicity monitoring.
Since these practical and user-friendly culture/maintenance free assays are to date only known and applied by a few users in Canada, this short course aims at providing detailed information to Canadian ecotoxicologists on the multiple advantages of Toxkit microbiotests in comparison to "conventional" toxicity tests.
Demonstrations will therefore be given during the course on the various Toxkit microbiotests, with examples of their application in different domains.

Training language: As the instructor is fluent in both English and French, he will shift from one to the other during the presentation and demonstrations.

Participant should bring: Material required to take notes.

Material provided: Presentation material and coffee break.

Cost: $70 Regular, $40 Student.

Up

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3- Application of the CABIN biomonitoring protocol.

Logistics: Sunday September 27, 9:00 – 12:30.

Instructors: Tara Paull (Aquatic Biomonitoring Officer, National Water Quality Monitoring (Gatineau), Environment Canada) and Alain Armellin (Aquatic Flora and Fauna Specialist, Québec Water Quality Monitoring (Montréal), Environment Canada).
Tara Paull is the national coordinator for the Canadian Aquatic Biomonitoring Network (CABIN). Mrs. Paull’s background is in environmental studies and paleolimnology. She has studied aquatic ecosystems in the Midwestern US, the Yukon and the Canadian Arctic. More recently, in her role as national coordinator for CABIN, Mrs. Paull has been closely involved with aquatic biomonitoring training.

Description:
The course is an introduction to CABIN biomionitoring program and will include a brief classroom session on aquatic biomonitoring, benthic macroinvertebrates, and the Canadian Aquatic Biomonitoring Network. The classroom session will be followed by a two-hour field demonstration where participants will be introduced to the CABIN field sampling protocol.

Note: this is not a certification level course

Training language: English.

Participant should bring: Appropriate outdoor clothing: rain jacket, fleece, hat/mittens if necessary, waterproof boots or hip waders.

Material provided: PowerPoint presentation.

Cost: $105 Regular, $65 Student.

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4- Calculation and Interpretation of Effluent Discharge Objectives for Contaminants in the Aquatic Environment.

CANCELED

5- Soyez plus créatifs grâce à la méthode des six chapeaux d’Edward de Bono.

CANCELED