Peculiarities of the copper toxic effect on the phytoplankton communities of the Baltic Sea

The ecotoxicological investigations on the resistance of various phytoplankton communities were performed in the Southern Baltic Sea during summer and winter periods. The primary production rate was studied for different Cu concentrations. The enhancement of the toxic effect as well as total biomass and productivity increase were observed for phytocenosis. Total algae biomass on most of the stations increased accordingly to the dinoflagellate growth. Both dinoflagellate impact and relative copper toxic effect declined in the Gdansk Bay opposite to the high total algae biomass observed. We assume the dinoflagellate abundance is linked with the sensitivity of the phytoplankton cells to copper.