Polychlorinated biphenyls may alter marine trophic pathways by reducing phytoplankton size and production.
Polychlorinated biphenyls at concentrations of 1 to 10 micrograms per liter reduced phytoplankton biomass and size in natural estuarine phytoplankton communities grown within dialysis bags in situ in an estuarine marsh. In polychlorinated biphenyls-contaminated waters, these changes could increase the number of trophic levels and divert the flow of biomass from harvestable fish to jellyfish and other gelatinous predators.
D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000378:metabolism; D002734:Chlorophyll / Q000378:metabolism; D010788:Photosynthesis / Q000187:drug effects; D010839:Phytoplankton / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D010933:Plankton / Q000187:drug effects*; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000494:pharmacology*; D014873:Water Pollutants / Q000633:toxicity*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000633:toxicity*
D014873:Water Pollutants; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D002734:Chlorophyll; D002245:Carbon Dioxide; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls