Risk assessment of nitrate and petroleum-derived hydrocarbon addition on Contricriba weissflogii biomass, lifetime, and nutritional value.

Coastal diatoms are often exposed to both petroleum-derived hydrocarbon pollution and eutrophication. How these exposures influence on algal biomass, lifetime, and nutritional value are unknown. To examine a more accurate risk assessment of the pollutants on the role of diatoms in coastal ecosystem functions, Conticribra weissflogii was maintained at different concentrations of nitrate (N) and/or water-soluble fractions of No.0 diesel oil (WSF). Algal density, cell growth cycle, protein, chlorophyll a, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, and malonaldehyde (MDA) were determined for the assessment of algal biomass, lifetime, nutritional value, photosynthesis and respiration, antioxidant capacity, and lipid peroxidation, respectively.When N addition was combined with WSF pollution, the cell growth cycles were shortened by 27-44%; SOD activities were decreased by 1-64%; algal density, the concentrations of chlorophyll a, protein, and MDA were varied between 38 and 310%, 62 and 712%, 4 and 124%, and 19 and 233% of the values observed in N addition experiments, respectively. Coastal ecosystem functions were severely weakened by N and WSF additions, and the influence was increased in the order: N<WSF<WSF+N. Thus, the simultaneous monitoring of N and WSF was necessary for the risk assessment of petroleum-derived hydrocarbon on coastal ecosystem functions.