Journal of Environmental Biology

Estimation of Cochlodinium polykrikoides growth potential using a dialysis membrane

Young Sik Lee*

Aquaculture Environment Institute, National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (NFRDI), 361 Yongun-ri Sanyang-up Tongyeong-city, Kyungnam - 650-943, Korea

(Received: April 06, 2007; Revised received: September 22, 2007; Accepted: October 05, 2007)

Abstract: We developed a test to measure the growth potential of C. polykrikoides using a dialysis membrane and artificial seawater. Nitrite nitrogen and inorganic phosphorus in the medium were almost completely removed when the medium was dialyzed against artificial seawater for five or more 6-hour cycles using a dialysis membrane (Spectrum’s Spectra/Por^â7 Membrane) with a molecular-weight cut-off of 50,000, regardless of the presence of C. polykrikoides. The phytoplankton grew well even after dialysis. To estimate the growth potential of C. polykrikoides, a minimum initial concentration of >100 cells/ml is required. Methods using short-term starvation culturing of C. polykrikoides to measure growth potential were determined to be ineffective; instead, controlled tests using artificial seawater are recommended. The dialysis membrane used in this study can also be employed to measure the algal growth potential of other phytoplankton species.

Key words: Algal growth potential, Artificial seawater, Cochlodinium polykrikoides, Dialysis membrane

Copyright © 2008 Triveni Enterprises. All rights reserved. No part of the Journal can be reproduced in any form without prior permission. Responsibility regarding the authenticity of the data, and the acceptability of the conclusions enforced or derived, rest completely with the author(s).