The Catalase Activity of the Red Alga Ceramium virgatum Roth, 1797 as a Marker of the Quality of the Marine Environment Based on the Example of the Coastal Zone of Southwestern Crimea

Abstract

This study determined the range of conditionally normal values of the catalase activity (СA) in the Black Sea red macroalga Ceramium virgatum. The level of CА in the alga corresponded to its conditionally normal functioning (26.79 ± 10.32 μg H2O2/(g wet weight min)). The minimum concentrations of hydrochemical parameters that correspond to the sensitivity threshold of CА in C. virgatum were found; these minimum values are 40 μM/L for organic nitrogen, 0.03 μM/L for nitrites, 0.3 μM/L for nitrates, 0.12 μM/L for inorganic phosphorus, and 0.47 μM/L for organic phosphorus.