Relationship Between Pigment Concentration and Dry Weight in Determining Microalgae Abundance in Artificial Water Samples

Relationship Between Pigment Concentration and Dry Weight in Determining Microalgae Abundance in Artificial Water Samples

Kamaruddin Eddiwan, Tengku Dahril, Efawani
Aquatic Resources Management. Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science. Riau University. Campus Biana Widya. HR Soebrantas Street Km 12.5. Kecamatan Tampan. Kota Pekanbaru. Riau. Indonesia. 28293

DOI: https://doi.org/10.51244/IJRSI.2023.10512

Received: 09 January 2023; Revised:  11 May 2023; Accepted: 16 May 2023; Published: 18 June 2023

Abstract: Microalgae are aquatic organisms that can function as bioindicators of surface water quality. The concentration of chlorophyll a can be measured to determine the level of microalgae abundance in a body of water. Measurement of the dry weight of microalgae biomass is another method that can be used to determine the abundance of microalgae in a body of water. Both methods have their advantages and disadvantages. In measuring chlorophyll concentration, the presence of other compounds besides chlorophyll which can absorb light spectrum at certain wavelengths (wavelengths of 665 nm, 645 nm, and 630 nm) causes the measured absorbance value to be greater than it should be. The level of turbidity due to the content of suspended particles in water is a problem in the dry weight measurement method. Determination of the dry weight of biomass based on the chlorophyll concentration approach is the subject of this study. The results of simple linear regression analysis showed that the concentration of chlorophyll a and the dry weight of microalgae biomass in treatment A had a fairly strong positive correlation (Ra = 0.870), the tendency of which was to follow the linear regression equation Y = 302.35x + 17.121. Determination of dry weight based on the chlorophyll concentration measurement approach can be applied to water samples with suspended solids content that tends to be constant and inert (does not produce substances that can react with organic solvents during the chlorophyll extraction process). In addition, based on the results of data processing it can be concluded that the effect of the content of other suspended particles in the water samples did not show a statistically significant effect.

Keywords: Biomass Dry Weight, Bioindicators, Turbidity, Chlorophyll a, Microalgae

I. Introduction

Aquatic organisms are biotic components that require certain conditions to maintain their survival. Changes in the condition of a water body as a place to live can result in a change in the composition of aquatic organisms in the water body (Jha et al., 2008; Tampus, Annielyn D. Ermelinda G. Tobias, Ruben F. Amparado, 2012). Changes in composition that occur indirectly can describe the condition of a body of water, so it can be said that aquatic organisms are bioindicators of a body of water (Hosam et al., 2011; Pool et al., 2016). Microalgae are aquatic organisms that are sensitive to changes in nutrient content in waters, so they can be classified as bio-indicators of water quality (Gupta & Singh, 2011; Lan et al., 2012).

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