Tolerance of polar phytoplankton communities to metals

• Published in: Environmental Pollution
• Main Authors: Echeveste, Pedro, Tovar-Sánchez, Antonio, Agustí, Susana
• Other Authors: Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (España), Govern de les Illes Balears
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: Elsevier 2014
• Subjects: Metals; Tolerance; Arctic Ocean; Southern Ocean; Phytoplankton; Antarctic; Arctic; The Antarctic; Antarc*
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10261/103835; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2013.10.029; https://doi.org/10.13039/501100004837

Large amounts of pollutants reach polar regions, particularly the Arctic, impacting their communities. In this study we analyzed the toxic levels of Hg, Cd and Pb to natural phytoplankton communities of the Arctic and Southern Oceans, and compared their sensitivities with those observed on phytoplankton natural communities from temperate areas. Mercury was the most toxic metal for both Arctic and Antarctic communities, while both Cd and Pb were toxic only for the Antarctic phytoplankton. Total cell abundance of the populations forming the Arctic community increased under high Cd and Pb concentrations, probably due to a decrease of the grazing pressure or the increase of the most resistant species, although analysis of individual cells indicated that cell death was already induced at the highest levels. These results suggest that phytoplankton may have acquired adapting mechanisms to face high levels of Pb and Cd in the Arctic Ocean. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. The present study was supported by a doctoral fellowship to P. Echeveste and by the Competitive Group of Excellence for the Analysis of Mediterranean Ecosystems (GAEM), both funded by the Conselleria d'Economía, Hisenda i Innovació del Govern de les Illes Balears, and by the research project ATOS (POL2006-00550/CTM), funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation. Peer Reviewed