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(43-09) Growth inhibition of the marine macroalga Ceramium strictum and the brackish water C. tenuicorne by some chemicals. Eklund, Britta*,1, Bruno, Ellen1, Ek, Karin1, 1 The Institute of Applied Environmental Research (ITM), Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden ABSTRACT- Most anthropogenic-derived pollutants are discharged into the coastal areas. Especially in areas with large drainage area, e.g. river mouths, estuaries and in-locked areas like the Baltic Sea, an elevated concentration of pollutants may be observed. The effect of pollutants on living organisms is still very limited and especially toxic effects on macroalgae are scarce. Since the macroalgae are important primary producers and also form the living habitat for all other organisms in the coastal ecosystems it is essential with increased knowledge of toxic effects by chemicals on this group. The evenly dichotomous growth of the macroalgae Ceramium spp makes it possible to measure an effect by specific substances as reduction in length increment in a reproducible way. Toxic effects on growth have been measured on two common Ceramium species. C. strictum is a marine species common in temperate waters in all oceans and C. tenuicorne is common all over the Baltic Sea. In the laboratory controlled experiments have been performed on some metals i.e. copper, chromium, zinc, cadmium, and some organic substances i.e. phenol, 3,5 -dichlorophenol, 2,4,6-tribromophenol and chlorate. The results show that in most cases the sensitivity of the two species is very similar, but for some metals the toxic effect is much higher towards the brackish water species C. tenuicorne. The sensitivity of the macroalgae is in most cases greater than effects measured on invertebrates and fish. Key words: macroalgae, Ceramium, toxic effect, growth inhibition |
