title: Tolerance of polar phytoplankton communities to metals.
abstract: Large amounts of pollutants reach polar regions, particularly the Arctic, impacting their communities. In this study we analyzed the toxic levels of Hg, Cd and Pb to natural phytoplankton communities of the Arctic and Southern Oceans, and compared their sensitivities with those observed on phytoplankton natural communities from temperate areas. Mercury was the most toxic metal for both Arctic and Antarctic communities, while both Cd and Pb were toxic only for the Antarctic phytoplankton. Total cell abundance of the populations forming the Arctic community increased under high Cd and Pb concentrations, probably due to a decrease of the grazing pressure or the increase of the most resistant species, although analysis of individual cells indicated that cell death was already induced at the highest levels. These results suggest that phytoplankton may have acquired adapting mechanisms to face high levels of Pb and Cd in the Arctic Ocean.
authors.affiliation: Department of Global Change Research, Instituto Mediterráneo de Estudios Avanzados, IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB), Miquel Marqués 21, 07190, Esporles, Illes Balears, Spain; Departamento de Botânica, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, Rodovia Washington Luis km 235, São Carlos, SP CEP 13560-970, Brazil. Electronic address: echevestepedro@gmail.com.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Echeveste
authors.affiliation: Department of Global Change Research, Instituto Mediterráneo de Estudios Avanzados, IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB), Miquel Marqués 21, 07190, Esporles, Illes Balears, Spain; ICMAN-Instituto de Ciencias Marinas de Andalucía (CSIC), Campus Universitario Río San Pedro, 11510, Puerto Real, Cádiz, Spain.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tovar-Sánchez
authors.affiliation: Department of Global Change Research, Instituto Mediterráneo de Estudios Avanzados, IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB), Miquel Marqués 21, 07190, Esporles, Illes Balears, Spain; The UWA Oceans Institute and School of Plant Biology, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, 6009, Australia.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Agustí
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000864:Antarctic Regions; D001110:Arctic Regions; D008670:Metals / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity*; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D010839:Phytoplankton / Q000502:physiology*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D008670:Metals; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Arctic Ocean; Metals; Phytoplankton; Southern Ocean; Tolerance