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Kottuparambil & Agusti_2018.pdf
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Type
ArticleKAUST Department
Red Sea Research Center (RSRC)Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering (BESE) Division
Marine Science Program
Date
2018-04-25Online Publication Date
2018-04-25Print Publication Date
2018-08Permanent link to this record
http://hdl.handle.net/10754/627739
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In this study, we investigated the in situ responses of Red Sea picophytoplankton, the dominant phytoplankton group in the oligotrophic ocean, to two toxic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), phenanthrene and pyrene. The experiments were conducted across a latitudinal gradient of the Saudi Arabian Red Sea, an area sensitive to oil pollution. We observed significant adverse effects on the growth and abundance of the picocyanobacteria Synechococcus and picoeukaryotes, at all stations sampled. Prochlorococcus, which was abundant only at one of the stations, also appeared to be affected. Pyrene was found to be more toxic to phytoplankton at all stations. In general, picoeukaryotes exhibited higher sensitivity to PAHs than Synechococcus. Populations in the highly oligotrophic Northern region of the Red Sea were more tolerant to PAHs, presumably influenced by the natural selection of more resistant strains of phytoplankton due to the prolonged exposure to PAHs. Toxicity threshold values estimated here are higher than those reported for picophytoplankton from other oligotrophic marine waters and exceed by far the natural levels of PAHs in many oceans. Our findings reveal a possible adaptation of picophytoplankton populations to oil-related contaminants, which may clearly influence their spatial distribution patterns in the Red Sea.Citation
Kottuparambil S, Agusti S (2018) PAHs sensitivity of picophytoplankton populations in the Red Sea. Environmental Pollution 239: 607–616. Available: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2018.04.079.Sponsors
This work was supported by the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). We are grateful to the Coastal and Marine Resources Core Lab (CMOR), KAUST and the R/V Thuwal crew for their help during the sampling procedures.Publisher
Elsevier BVJournal
Environmental PollutionPubMed ID
29704673Additional Links
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749118305463ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1016/j.envpol.2018.04.079
Scopus Count
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