Freshwater Ulva (Chlorophyta) as a bioaccumulator of selected heavy metals (Cd, Ni and Pb) and alkaline earth metals (Ca and Mg)

Abstract

Freshwater Ulva (Chlorophyta) as a bioaccumulator of selected heavy metals (Cd, Ni and Pb) We analyzed the ability of freshwater taxa of the genus Ulva (Ulvaceae, Chlorophyta) to serve as bioindicators of metal in lakes and rivers. Changes in heavy metal (Ni, Cd and Pb) and alkaline earth metal (Ca and Mg) concentrations in freshwater Ulva thalli were investigated during the period from June to August 2010. The study was conducted in two ecosystems in Western Poland, the Malta lake (10 sites) and the Nielba river (six sites). Three components were collected for each sample, including water, sediment and Ulva thalli. The average concentrations of metals in the water sample and in the macroalgae decreased in the following order: Ca > Mg > Ni > Pb > Cd. The sediment revealed a slightly altered order: Ca > Mg > Pb > Ni > Cd. Ca and Mg were found at the highest concentrations in thalli due to the presence of carbonate on its surface. Among the examined heavy metals in thalli, Ni was in the highest concentration, and Cd found in the lowest concentration. There were statistically significant correlations between the levels of metals in macroalgae, water and sediment. Freshwater populations of Ulva exhibited a greater efficiency to bioaccumulate nickel as compared to species derived from marine ecosystems.

Ulva flexuosa(Ulvaceae, Chlorophyta) inhabiting inland aquatic ecosystems: molecular, morphological and ecological discrimination of subspecies

“…Recent studies of the Ulva taxa in European fresh waters have primarily employed molecular methods for correct species identification (Mareš et al, 2011), complementing determination of morphometric and ultrastructural characteristics Messyasz et al, 2013) and bioaccumulation of metals (Rybak et al, 2012a(Rybak et al, , 2012b. Similarities among Ulva flexuosa subspecies make identification of freshwater Ulva problematic, and there has been no complete account of their morphological characteristics or habitat niches.…”

Effects of organic compounds on the macroalgae culture of Aegagropila linnaei

“…The presence of the studied organic compounds had a negligible effect on the development of algae and their biomass composition in contrast to the metal ions [2][3][4][6][7][8]14,15], inorganic phosphorus [22,23] and nitrogen [16]. However, Berman & Chava [27] proved that also organic nitrogen sources might significantly stimulate the development of algae, especially when urea was the only nitrogen source.…”

“…It has been shown that different inorganic molecules, especially metal ions [2][3][4][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15], as well as inorganic phosphorus [22,23] and nitrogen from nitrates and ammonium salts [16], has a significant effect on the composition of algae biomass. In our studies, we focused on the impact of four organic compounds: ascorbic acid, biotin, glucose and sucrose, on ash, protein, fiber, fat and amino acid content in the freshwater Aegagropila linnaei biomass.…”

“…Hence, biosorption process using algae as biosorbents for metal ion removal has been frequently studied in recent years [6][7][8][9]. Depending on algae species, their morphology and habitat, water temperature, its salinity, pH and other factors, algae are able to cumulate various metals, e.g.…”

Non-linear Isotherm Models, Cadmium Kinetics, and Biosorption Thermodynamics of Dried Biomass of Native Aphanothece sp. in a Batch System

“…These compounds contain hydroxyl, carboxyl, sulfhydryl, amide, and amine functional groups with high affinity to metal ions under certain conditions. The quantity and quality of these functional groups differ among microalgae, meaning that each algal species has a different metal-binding capability [1,7,11].…”