Employment of CEPEX enclosures for monitoring toxicity of Hg and Zn on in situ structural and functional characteristics of algal communities of River Ganga in Varanasi, India.

Effects of Hg and Zn on in situ nitrogen fixation, autotrophic index, pigment diversity, 14CO2 uptake, and change in algal community structure of Ganges water have been studied for the first time using CEPEX chambers in aquatic ecosystem of India. A concentration-dependent decrease in in situ nitrogenase activity of Ganges water with Hg and Zn has been noticed. No ethylene production was observed at 0.8 microgram/ml of Hg. However, an increase in the autotrophic index was observed in CEPEX enclosures treated with Hg and Zn. The AI value was maximum at 0.8 microgram/ml Hg after an incubation of 15 days. An increase in pigment diversity also followed the pattern of AI with the test metals used. Inhibition of 14CO2 uptake of phytoplankton of Ganges water was maximum at 0.8 microgram/ml Hg (79%) followed by Zn (69%). Carbon fixation showed an increase for 1 hr, after which no appreciable change was noticed. Maximum inhibition of algal number was observed at 0.8 microgram/ml Hg followed by 8.0 micrograms/ml of Zn in the CEPEX chamber. Members of Chlorophyceae showed more tolerance than Cyanophyceae and Bacillariophyceae. The filamentous forms were more tolerant to Hg and Zn. In contrast, unicellular forms were more sensitive to Hg. The test of significance (ANOVA) showed that metal-induced variations in pigment diversity, the autotrophic index, and the 14CO2 uptake were highly significant (P less than 0.001).