Opportunities for Environmental Applications of Marine Biotechnology Proceedings of the October 5-6, 1999, Workshop (2000) / Chapter Skim
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Use of Trace Metals in Marine Bioremediation: A Need for Fundamental Knowledge
Use of Trace Metals in Marine Bioremediation: A Need for Fundamental Knowledge
Pages 96-101
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From page 96... ...
We now know, for example, that the iron supply limits phytoplankton productivity of some regions of the oceans. Conversely, the seawater concentration of a metal such as copper is nearly toxic to a number of marine microorganisms and may control, for example, the distribution of important photosynthetic species such as Prochlorococcus in the water column.
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From page 97... ...
My concern is with the establishment of a knowledge base that would make such bioremediation technically feasible as well as socially and environmentally responsible. I particularly focus on the need for fundamental understanding of marine processes, from the molecular to the ecological scale, and the development of molecular and svnontic tools appropriate to oceanographic research.
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From page 98... ...
This may well be true of noxious or toxic species, and it has been suggested that the apparently increasing frequency of harmful algal blooms may be related to changes in the relative availability of major nutrients and/or trace metals brought about by human activity. Thus, the control of the floral composition of coastal waters by manipulating, or rectifying, trace metal chemistry may indeed be feasible and perhaps be advisable.
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From page 99... ...
An effective metal treatment method requires that we understand thoroughly both the chemistry of trace metals in coastal waters and the role of these metals in the ecology of the phytoplankton. Because of the high concentration of organic compounds in coastal waters, the nature and extent of metal chelation by natural organic complexing agents is even less well understood than it is in open ocean waters.
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From page 100... ...
The added iron practically disappears from the system after such time and is incorporated into the biogeochemical processes that cycle iron and other trace metals in surface seawater. What, in fact, would happen to the ecology of the Southern Ocean if we sustained it with a high level of iron fertilization over several years?
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From page 101... ...
However, if we do not begin now to acquire a fundamental understanding of marine processes at a level commensurate with the advances in the basic disciplines (e.g., biology and chemistry) , the application to the marine environment of biotechnology any more refined than major nutrient addition (e.g., modulation of trace metal chemistry)
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