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<p>This study focused on phytoplankton changes in polluted waters of Lake Manzala and the assessment of heavy metal bioaccumulation capacity during the 15-day laboratory experiment. Phytoplankton samples were analyzed every day and the concentration of zinc, iron and lead in water, in phytoplankton and in filtrate – every fifth day of the experiment. Significantly higher phytoplankton abundance was recorded in water from the El-Boom station (basin I) compared to the New Bahr El-Baqar drain (basin II), followed by distinct differences in its composition and chlorophyll content. However, the most abundant species were the same in both basins, i.e. <italic>Chroococcus minor</italic>, <italic>Microcystis aeruginosa</italic>, <italic>Actinoptychus octonarius</italic>, <italic>Aulacoseira granulata</italic>, <italic>Pantocsekiella ocellata</italic>, <italic>Kirchneriella obesa</italic> and <italic>Nephrocytium limneticum</italic>. Water in basin I was more polluted with heavy metals compared to basin II. Basin I was characterized by the dominance of cyanobacteria and high relative abundance of chlorophytes compared to basin II, where either cyanobacteria and/or diatoms dominated in the phytoplankton. In the former basin, the highest uptake factors (UFs) were recorded for iron and zinc and the lowest UF for lead. In basin II, the highest UF was determined for zinc, but relatively high UFs were recorded also for iron and lead. The presented results suggest that phytoplankton can contribute to natural biosorbents of heavy metals in Egyptian lakes.</p>
</abstract>

This study focused on phytoplankton changes in polluted waters of Lake Manzala and the assessment of heavy metal bioaccumulation capacity during the 15-day laboratory experiment. Phytoplankton samples were analyzed every day and the concentration of zinc, iron and lead in water, in phytoplankton and in filtrate – every fifth day of the experiment. Significantly higher phytoplankton abundance was recorded in water from the El-Boom station (basin I) compared to the New Bahr El-Baqar drain (basin II), followed by distinct differences in its composition and chlorophyll content. However, the most abundant species were the same in both basins, i.e. Chroococcus minor, Microcystis aeruginosa, Actinoptychus octonarius, Aulacoseira granulata, Pantocsekiella ocellata, Kirchneriella obesa and Nephrocytium limneticum. Water in basin I was more polluted with heavy metals compared to basin II. Basin I was characterized by the dominance of cyanobacteria and high relative abundance of chlorophytes compared to basin II, where either cyanobacteria and/or diatoms dominated in the phytoplankton. In the former basin, the highest uptake factors (UFs) were recorded for iron and zinc and the lowest UF for lead. In basin II, the highest UF was determined for zinc, but relatively high UFs were recorded also for iron and lead. The presented results suggest that phytoplankton can contribute to natural biosorbents of heavy metals in Egyptian lakes.

Short-term changes in phytoplankton assemblages and their potential for heavy metal bioaccumulation – a laboratory study

Oceanological and Hydrobiological Studies

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

This study focused on phytoplankton changes in polluted waters of Lake Manzala and the assessment of heavy metal bioaccumulation capacity during the 15-day...

Short-term changes in phytoplankton assemblages and their potential for heavy metal bioaccumulation – a laboratory study

Article Category: Original research paper

Published Online: Sep 21, 2018

Page range: 260 - 274

Received: Nov 24, 2017

Accepted: Jan 15, 2018

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/ohs-2018-0025

© 2018 Faculty of Oceanography and Geography, University of Gdańsk, Poland

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.