Algae as Bioindicators: The effects of heavy metals on algae and development of an algal index system for assessing water quality

In three different experiments, the influence of various concentrations of zinc, copper and crude oil on productivity and species composition in algal periphyton communities was investigated using indoor artificial streams. The effects of zinc, copper and crude oil on community productivity were assessed by measuring biomass, ash-free dry mass (AFDM), chlorophyll-a, species composition, relative abundance, biovolume and bioconcentration factor. Generally in artificial streams with zinc, copper and crude oil there was a significant (p