Abstract
Laboratory experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of copper enrichment (0.6, 2, 4, 8, 18 and 36 mu g L-1) and salinity (8.5, 17 and 24%) on growth, photosynthetic efficiency "PE" (expressed as chlorophyll fluorescence) and copper accumulation in germlings and adult brown alga Fucus ceranoides. The PE for the algae exposed to 17% salinity was markedly stable throughout the experiment, while it was significantly (0.01 < p < 0.05) reduced in algae exposed to 8.5% salinity in the presence of 36 mu g L-1 Cu by 20% when compared to those exposed to 0.6 mu g L-1 Cu. Moreover, the maximum electron transport rate (ETRmax) was decreased significantly with increasing concentrations of Cu (p < 0.001) and level of salinity (p < 0.01); moreover, there was a significant interaction between Cu and salinity. The combination of copper and reduced salinity gave synergistic effects, as a consequence, this could limit the population growth of seaweeds in coastal areas. More research is needed to understand the basic requirements and stress tolerance in seaweeds for reef restoration and other management actions to be successful for sustainable development.The results of the present study suggest that any change in the environment will directly and significantly affect algal physiology, and thus it could be used for biomonitoring in situ. Moreover, the assessment of the physiological status of algae in combination with the analysis of thallus metal content will improve the trustworthiness of the biomonitoring process.