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Copper inhibition of carbon fixation in coastal phytoplankton assemblages

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2009

Anthony G. Davies
Affiliation:
The Laboratory, Marine Biological Association, Citadel Hill, Plymouth
Jillian A. Sleep
Affiliation:
The Laboratory, Marine Biological Association, Citadel Hill, Plymouth

Extract

The effect of copper upon carbon fixation in coastal phytoplankton assemblages has been studied in relation to both the metal concentration in the water and the levels taken up by the plant cells. The phytoplankton populations were those present in water samples collected from Station L4 in the English Channel in the late autumn of 1979. The lowest copper concentrations causing detectable inhibition of photosynthesis lay in the range 1–25 μg/1, well below the levels which have been reported to be present in some sea areas around the British Isles; metal pollution may thus be influencing primary production in these contaminated regions.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 1980

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