Algae aquatic studies

Aquatic organisms Acute test fish (2x) and Daphnia, long-term/chronic test fish and Daphnia, algae, aquatic plant for herbicides, sediment organisms, bioaccumulation study Mainly a.i. tests... 

It remains to be demonstrated that OFAs are extracellular metabolites of algae and that they are prominant factors among the many determinants of succession and dominance patterns of phytoplankton. It appears that these compounds are worthy of further structural study, and that the effects on individual algae show promise of providing insight into the complex interactions in aquatic ecosystems. 

Algae are of vital importance in the primary production of the aquatic ecosystem because they are primary producers of the food chain. Several species of green algae are used in toxicity studies of pesticides, especially herbicides such as Chlorella vulgaris, Chlorella pyrenoidosa, or the standard test microalga... 

Uptake of small organic metal complexes over transport systems of organic metabolites may be possible, for example, of small organic acids like citrate or amino acids. However, only few examples of such processes have been studied so far. Increased uptake of cadmium by an alga has been observed in the presence of citrate and has been attributed to accidental transport of the metal-citrate complex over a citrate transporter [212]. Transport systems of inorganic anions may also play a role in metal transport. Silver uptake by algae was enhanced in the presence of thiosulfate. In this case, the silver thiosulfate complex was transported over a sulfate uptake system [213]. It remains to be demonstrated how widespread these processes may be for metal uptake in the aquatic environment [12]. 

The commercial availability of certain toxin standards has allowed researchers to examine the physiological mechanisms of allelopathy by cyanobacteria. The best known examples are from studies on microcystins, which affect plants and aquatic algae by interfering with protein phosphatases in a manner similar to their effect on vertebrate enzymes (Babica et al. 2006). However, there is evidence that microcystins can also promote the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in photoautotrophs, which can cause extensive damage to cellular membranes and enzymes (Babica et al. 2006 Leflaive and Ten-Hage 2007). 

Finally, Chaps. 13 and 14 both review other areas of macroalgal and microalgal chemical ecology that have been studied to some extent for a number of years but which are both active areas of current research. Chapter 13 focuses on the multiple ways in which algae utilize defensive compounds to limit damage from ultraviolet radiation. Chapter 14 reviews studies of the behavioral sensory ecology of algae, which is very much understudied in comparison to such work on terrestrial and aquatic animals. 

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