STUDY ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SPECIATION OF HEAVY METALS AND THEIR ECOTOXICITY——I. TOXICITY OF Cu, Cd , Pb AND Zn IN SEAWATER TO THREE MARINE ALGAE IN THE PRESENCE OF DIFFERENT COMPLEXATION AGENTS

Heavy metal is a main pollutant in the marine ecosystem . so study on the effect of heavy metal on phytoplankton is important . Algae (Chaetoceros sp . , Dunaliella sp . ., Dicrateria zhanjiangenis Hu . var . sp .) were laboratory cultured to observe the effect of heavy metals on their growth . The effect of different metal ion concentration , the detoxication effect of complexation agents and the growth of algae in different media and different nutrition levels were studied to evaluate the effect of metal speciation . It is proved that trace amount of heavy metals can stimulate the growth of algae cells but that high concentration is lethal . The sequence of toxicity is Cd2+>Zn2+>Pb2+ . In ordinary nutrition conditions , the detoxication sequence of complexation agents to Chaetoceros sp . is EDTA > sodium salicylate > sodium oxalate > sodium citrate > sulfanilic acid > O-phenanthroline . This is in good conformity with the stability constant sequence of these agents with copper and good evidence that t