Influence of water pollution on the growth and pigment concentration of the microalgae Phaeodactylum tricornutum Bohlin (Bacillariophyta)

Abstract

The aim of the work was to study the influence of the water taken from one of the most polluted parts of the Peter the Great Bay (the Japan Sea), the Nakhodka Bay, on the growth and chlorophyll a concentration in the cells of microalga P. tricornutum Bohlin (Bacillariophyta). The estimation of the dynamics of cell number growth and chlorophyll a concentration in the cells of microalga grown in the water from the Nakhodka Bay was made. At the same time, in 2007-2008, the main hydrochemical parameters, such as water salinity, dissolved oxygen concentration, BOD(5), organic and mineral phosphates concentration, anionic surfactants, and total petroleum hydrocarbons, were determined. It is shown that in July 2007, when most hydrochemical parameters were lower than the maximum permissible level, the culture growth and chlorophyll a contents in the cells did not differ from the control for certain. In other seasons these indices differed greatly from the control. The positive correlation between the concentration of dissolved oxygen, phosphates, petroleum hydrocarbons, and the number of microalga cells, grown in the water from the Nakhodka Bay, was shown.