Systematic and ecological studies on algae of some habitats polluted with fertilizer factory effluent

Abstract

Sampling of an open field and pond which receive a highly alkaline, nitrogen and chloride-rich effluent from a fertilizer factory near Varanasi, India, resulted in identification of 33 algal species of Cyanophyta, Chlorophyta, Bacillariophyta, and Euglenophyta. Diatoms were the most frequent, and species of the genus Oscillatoria (Cyanophyta) were dominant, and this dominance confirms Palmer 's earlier research that blue-green algae are very tolerant to pollution. Euglenoids had the maximum density and abundance. No heterocystous algae were found, growth of which is inhibited by nitrogen. The factory, Shahu-Chemicals and Fertilizer Ltd., manufactures ammonium chloride. Its effluent is discharged into the field, where some collects in a shallow pond one km from the factory. Both habitats support abundant growths of algae. Communities were studied using the microquadrat method. Euglenophytes were highest in individuals/ml (146 million), and Cyanophyta (.434 million). The algal communities appeared to be floristically nonhomogeneous. The absence of low numbers of other algal forms may be due to poor nutrient conditions or abnormally high chloride and nitrogen content. (Lynch-Wisconsin).