UC Toxics News: Fall 2001
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Former TSR&TP Trainee Teaches Aquatic Toxicology through K-12 Outreachby Mika Pringle Tolson |
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Chris Pincetich, shown in the lab coat, trains attendees at the SETAC short course in sample preparation and receiving. Courtesy photo. |
High
school students in California's Sacramento Valley are getting a taste of aquatic
toxicology by gathering local water samples and performing bioassays. Undergraduate
interns from UC Davis visit high school science classes and instruct the students
on how to gather samples, properly label them, and set up a 48 hour bioassay
to determine the water quality of each sample. "Students test for the
presence of toxicity in the water samples by monitoring the survival of Ceriodaphnia
dubia, a sensitive indicator species that is an important part of the
food chain", says Chris Pincetich, director of the Aquatic Toxicology
Outreach Program.
Pincetich is a doctoral student in the Pharmacology and Toxicology graduate
group at UC Davis, and a former TSR&TP trainee. He has directed the internships
since 1999. His research looks at the effects of pesticides on developing
fish embryos. It parallells the internship program in that "both programs
are trying to determine anthropogenic effects on the aquatic environment",
explains Pincetich.
The aquatic toxicology classroom visits began in 1996 as an outreach component
to the Center for Environmental Health Sciences (CEHS) at UC Davis. Stephen
Clark, another former TSR&TP trainee, created the program and ran it for
a year by himself before deciding to turn it into an internship for undergraduates.
He found that undergraduates enjoyed the opportunity to teach high school
students and that everyone learned from the experience. The program is now
co-sponsored by the CEHS and the TSR&TP Ecotoxicology Lead Campus Program.
Clark, who received his Ph.D. in 1999, is now the Lab Director of Pacific
EcoRisk, an environmental consulting firm in Martinez, California.
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Adelante High (Roseville)
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Sacramento
Area The internship program
is offered throughout the academic year, and several undergraduates participate
each quarter. Pincetich provides the interns with instruction in toxicology
as well as coordinating classroom visits with 10 different area schools (see
inset). The interns give a three day curriculum to each science class they
visit. The first day consists of an introduction to the basic principles of
toxicology through an activity called the Town of Two Lakes. The students
are then assigned to gather water samples from local creeks, gutter flows,
and ponds. The second day, interns help the students set up their bioassays
for each sample. Finally, the interns return to the classes 48 hours later
to help the students interpret the results of the assays.
In Davis, high school students have been gathering samples from the same pond
for over 5 years, which has provided some interesting toxicity data. Says
Pincetich, "I've found good indications of toxicity coming off streets
and flowing into West Davis pond." Some dramatic results have been 0%
survival of the Ceriodaphnia from samples taken at the drain pipe,
and 80% survival from samples 30 feet away. The likely culprit is hydrocarbon
contamination from oil and gas spills on the streets.
Pincetich has presented his data from the assays as well as the science class curriculum at scientific meetings of the Society of Toxicology (SOT) and the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC). At the 2001 SOT meeting, 35 teachers from the local community attended Pincetich's presentation of the aquatic toxicology curriculum. This curriculum is available free of charge to teachers who want to try it with their students. Those interested should contact Chris Pincetich at capincetich@ucdavis.edu.
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