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Photosynthetic and population growth response of the test alga Selenastrum capricornutum Printz to zinc, cadmium and suspended sediment elutriates

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Abstract

Short-term 14C-fixation (4 h) Selenastrum capricornutum algal toxicity tests were conducted with Cd (n=8), Zn (n=9) and suspended sediment aqueous elutriates (n=28) and the results were compared to those obtained in a 48 h population growth test. In order to provide more realistic experimental conditions, toxicity tests were carried out in prefiltered nutrient-spiked Lake Geneva water. The population growth inhibition test was significantly more sensitive than the14 C-fixation test for Cd (median EC50-4h and EC50-48h values of 600 and 118 µg L-1, respectively) whereas no significant difference was measured for Zn toxicity (median EC50-4h and EC50-48h values of 97 and 96 µg L-1, respectively). With suspended sediment aqueous elutriates, the relative sensitivity of the two different end points is sample dependent, with ratios of the EC25 for the14 C-fixation: population growth test ranging from <0.26 to >53.3. Elutriate toxicity shows no apparent relationship between the acute and chronic test, indicating that population growth inhibition cannot be derived directly or predicted from14 C-fixation. Both tests with their specific advantages and limitations provide valuable complementary information to measure the impact of single toxicants or complex mixtures on aquatic plants.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute F.-A. Forel, University of Geneva, 10 Route de Suisse, CH-1290, Versoix, Switzerland

    Michel Pardos, Christophe Benninghoff & Richard L. Thomas

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  1. Michel Pardos
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  2. Christophe Benninghoff
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  3. Richard L. Thomas
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Pardos, M., Benninghoff, C. & Thomas, R.L. Photosynthetic and population growth response of the test alga Selenastrum capricornutum Printz to zinc, cadmium and suspended sediment elutriates. Journal of Applied Phycology 10, 145–151 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008043931094

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