Protistology 4 (3) 221-226 (2006)
Effects of pH on toxicity of cadmium, cobalt and copper to Scenedesmus bijuga
Adel A. Fathi 1 and Mohammed A. Al-Omair 2
1 Biology Department, College of Science, King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia
Summary
This study was conducted to elucidate the effect of pH on the toxicity of cadmium,
cobalt and copper to the green alga Scenedesmus bijuga. The results revealed that the
growth of Scenedesmus bijuga increased with increasing pH. However, the accumulation,
the accumulation factor and the amount of free ionic forms of each metal decreased.
Generally, it appears that the metals tested exert more toxic effect in acidic than in
alkaline pH conditions.
Key words: algae, Scenedesmus bijuga, heavy metals, pH, toxicity
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