Interactions between a cyanobacterial bloom (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Microcystis</Emphasis>) and the submerged aquatic plant <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ceratophyllum oryzetorum</Emphasis> Kom.

In aquatic ecosystems, macrophytes and phytoplankton are main primary producers, in which macrophyte plays an important role in maintaining clear water state, while phytoplankton often dominates in turbid waterbodies. In the present study, the growth and photosynthetic activity of the submerged aquatic plant Ceratophyllum oryzetorum Kom. in different cell densities of cyanobacterial bloom are studied. The results show that the plant length and fresh mass of C. oryzetorum are promoted by low cyanobacterial cell densities. Medium and high cyanobacterial cell densities, on the contrary, act as inhibitory. Furthermore, the photosynthetic activity of C. oryzetorum is strongly inhibited by high cyanobacterial cell densities. To a certain extent, the growth of cyanobacteria is inhibited by C. oryzetorum, but no significant effect is found in this study. Supported by the Innovation Project of CAS (No.KZCX2-YW-426), a Provincial Project of Hubei (No. 2006AA305A0402) and the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program, No. 2002CB 412306)     

Removal of eutrophication factors and heavy metal from a closed cultivation system using the macroalgae, Gracilaria sp. (Rhodophyta)

In this study,the ability of macroalgae Gracilaria sp.of removing eutrophication factors and toxic heavy metals Al,Cr,and Zn in a closed cultivation system is reported.The results show that the concentration of the three heavy metals decreased significantly during the experimental period in an algal biomass dependent manner.The biofiltration capacity of the alga for Al,Cr,and Zn is 10.1%-72.6%,52.5%-83.4% and 36.5%-91.7%,respectively.Using more materials resulted in stronger heavy metal removal.Additionally...