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13 - Effects of Pollutants on Microalgae

from Part II - Physiology of Photosynthetic Autotrophs in Present-Day Environments

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 October 2024

Mario Giordano
Affiliation:
Università degli Studi di Ancona, Italy
John Beardall
Affiliation:
Monash University, Victoria
John A. Raven
Affiliation:
University of Dundee
Stephen C. Maberly
Affiliation:
UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Lancaster
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Summary

Aquatic phototrophs are increasingly being exposed to a host of potentially toxic materials, mostly anthropogenic in origin, that contaminate oceans and freshwater ecosystems. Here, focusing on algae, we consider the effects of pesticides (herbicides and insecticides), polychlorinated biphenyls, plastics, hydrocarbons and heavy metals on aspects of growth and physiological performance. Algae differ widely in their resistance to these pollutants, but some have been shown to actively remove toxicants from the surrounding water, either by biochemical detoxification processes or by absorption to cell components (in many cases the cell wall). Algae with the ability to remove pollutants from affected water have been proposed as possible agents of bioremediation, though to date most of the studies have been at the laboratory scale and there is a need to show that algal remediation can be achieved at scale. There is also a need for more studies using ecologically relevant concentrations of pollutants and investigation of interactions between multiple pollutants and environmental factors.

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