The Biology of Microalgae - Biotechnological Applications of Microalgae - page 14

principles and, thereby, provides a basis for focused temporal and spatial scientific
research and monitoring efforts in support of management aimed at the long-term
productivity and sustainability of marine habitats and resources. The plankton
of LMEs can be studied by deploying Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) sys-
tems (Glover, 1967) through commercial vessels. Advanced plankton recorders
can be installed with sensors for intense recording of temperature, salinity, chlo-
rophyll, nitrate/nitrite, petroleum hydrocarbons, light, bioluminescence, and pri-
mary productivity (UNESCO, 1992; Williams, 1993), which will help monitor
the changes in phytoplankton composition, dominance, and long-standing changes
in the physical and nutrient characteristics of the LME. In addition, longer-term
changes in relation to the biofeedback of the plankton community toward adverse
climate may also be clearly understood (Hayes et al., 1993; Jossi and Goulet, 1993;
Williams, 1993).
The phytoplankton community includes 5,000 marine species of unicellular
algae and has a broad diversity of cell size (mostly in the range of 1 to 100 µm),
morphology, physiology, and biochemical composition (Margalef, 1978). All phy-
toplankton species are capable of photosynthesis, and many have the capacity for
rapid cell division and population growth—up to four doublings per day. The popu-
lation dynamics of the phytoplankton can be interpreted as responses to changes in
the individual processes that regulate the biomass (total quantity, in measures such
as carbon, nitrogen, or chlorophyll concentration), species composition, and spatial
distribution of the phytoplankton population. Phytoplankton have a wide distribution
in all habitats of the marine environment and play a major role in the food chain of
an aquatic ecosystem. Some of the phytoplankton species also act as bio-indicators,
reflecting changes in the environment. Different hydrobiological parameters, such
as pH, temperature, salinity, alkalinity, nutrient concentration, solar radiation, etc.,
determine species composition, diversity, succession, and abundance of phytoplank-
ton (Perumal et al., 1999; Redekar and Wagh, 2000a, b). Remarkable changes in
the irradiance toward phytoplankton could occur due to changing seasonal, diurnal
cycles and weather conditions. Diatoms are the significant and often dominant con-
stituent of benthic microalgal communities in estuarine and shallow coastal regions
(Sullivan, 1999).
The taxonomy of the most common species with reliable distributional informa-
tion and records will allow for the design of ecological role models incorporating
the effects of climatic parameters, which would be very useful in predicting shifts in
distribution due to climatic changes.
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Baker, G.C., Gaffar, S., Cowan, D.A., and Suharto, A.R. (2001). Bacterial community analysis
of Indonesian hot springs. FEMS Microbiology Letters , 200: 103-109.
Cardozo, K.H., Guaratini, T., Barros, M.P., et al. (2007). Metabolites from algae with
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