Toxicity of copper on the growth of marine microalgae Pavlova sp. and its chlorophyll-a

Marine microalgae is the primary producer at the base of the marine food chain. Their sensitivity to metal contamination provides important information for predicting the environmental impact of pollution. Toxicity testing using marine microalgae Pavlova sp. was carried out to assess the toxicity of copper on the growth and chlorophyll-a content. Results of this study show that adverse effects were observed by the increase of copper concentration. Cell number began to decrease at the lowest concentration (13 μg/L) and reduced drastically at 98 μg/L. Minimum cell number was observed at the highest concentration (890 μg/L). The inhibition concentration (IC50) value of copper for Pavlova sp. was 51.46 μg/L and at concentrations >29 μgL^-1 the chlorophyll-a content decreased dramatically compared to the control. A variation in cell size and morphology was also observed at the higher concentration by the increase in the cell size and loss of setae compared to normal cells.