Growth of Plankton (Scenedesmus acutus (Chlorophyceae) and Moina macracopa (Cladocera)) on Domestic Wastewater

Abstract

Research ArticleGrowth of Plankton (Scenedesmus acutus (Chlorophyceae) and Moina macracopa (Cladocera)) on Domestic WastewaterThe population growth of the freshwater chlorophyte, Scenedesmus acutus and the cladoceran Moina macrocopa cultured in the laboratory and in microcosms of a wastewater treatment plant was studied. S. acutus was cultured in a defined algal medium and mixed with wastewater. On diets of S. acutus cultured using Bold medium or a mixture with wastewater, the peak densities of M. macrocopa were 6-7 ind. mL À1 , while on a diet of algae cultured on wastewater alone the cladoceran density fluctuated around 2 ind. mL À1 . Population growth rates of M. macrocopa, which ranged from 0.3 to 0.4 d À1 , were significantly lower on alga cultured in wastewater alone. The body size structure of M. macrocopa was larger on algae cultured in Bold medium than in wastewater. Peak densities of M. macrocopa were around 700 ind. L À1 when the organic matter in the containers was supplemented with algae but it reached lower densities (400 ind. L À1 ) when cultured on the organic matter in wastewater alone. Our study indicates that the nutrients in the final stages of wastewater treatment can support the growth of both phytoplankton and zooplankton.

The Role of Environmental and Spatial Processes in Structuring Stream Macroinvertebrates Communities in a Large River Basin

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How planktonic microcrustaceans respond to environment and affect ecosystem: a functional trait perspective

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