Effects of cadmium, copper and zinc on growth of four isolated algae from a highly polluted Argentina river.

Toxicity of cadmium, copper and zinc was tested on four green algal species (Ankistrodesmus fusiformis, Chlorella ellipsoidea, Monoraphidium contortum and Scenedesmus acuminatus) isolated from a highly polluted river (Matanza-Riachuelo River, Buenos Aires, Argentina). The relative abundance of these species in river waters showed that C. ellipsoidea was the most abundant species (mean 4,540 ind mL(-1)), whereas the less abundant species was S. acuminatus (mean 220 ind mL(-1)). The most sensitive species was A. fusiformis, which EC50 were Cd = 141 μg L(-1), Cu = 72 μg L(-1), and Zn = 199 μg L(-1), whereas C. ellipsoidea was the most resistant species to copper (EC50 = 489 μg L(-1)) and cadmium (EC50 = 429 μg L(-1)), and M. contortum and S. acuminatus were the most resistant species to zinc (EC50 = 381 and 394 μg L(-1), respectively).