Correlations Between Specific Algae and Heavy Metal Binding in Lakes

Abstract

Long-term experiments conducted at Heney Lake, Quebec, show the binding capacity for the metal ions Cu2+, Hg2+, Pb2+, and Cd2+ to be related to algal species composition rather than to total algal biomass or physicochemical parameters. Most of the binding could be accounted for by certain species of green algae, diatoms, and chrysomonads that usually constituted only a minor fraction of the total algal volume. Key words: freshwater phytoplankton, heavy metal binding, field study, diatoms, chrysomonads, green algae