This course will provide an overview of the environmental health and conservation issues posed by plastic pollution with a focus on the toxicological risks faced by marine animals that consume plastic. We will provide an overview of some of the key concepts in toxicology and explore how marine animal sensory physiology relates to plastic consumption. Students will enhance their scientific writing and communication skills and learn about the peer-review process through hands-on activities. At the end of the course, we will review government and private sector responses to the global plastic pollution issue, and students will critically evaluate currently proposed solutions, in comparison to the breadth and scale of the problem.

Each student will write two blog entries for our class blog briefly summarizing a from recent news article (within the past six months) relating to marine plastic pollution. The goal of this blog is to promote student engagement with scientific communication outside of the scientific journal articles.