*Ruchi Acharya and **Tayyab Saify

*Department of Botany, Career College, Bhopal-462023 (India) **Department of Botany, Gandhi P.R. College, Bhopal-462026 (India) E.mail: rch.acharya@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

In the forthcoming decade atmospheric pollution and climate change cause a serious threat to natural resources, biodiversity, and ecosystem services. The heavy metal pollution originating from increased industrialization and urbanization globally in aquatic ecosystem is a matter of concern regarding the potential hazard for aquatic flora & fauna. Metals such as copper are released into aquatic environment anthropogenically upto alarming concentration. Among algaecides, copper sulphate has been widely employed globally and phytoplanktons are potential targets for these algaecides residues. Now a days copper salts are intentionally added to the drinking water supply to control the algal growth. Therefore the study designed to recognize the effects of copper sulphate on growth and cell morphometry of microalgal species, Scenedesmus quadricauda isolated from a polluted site of lower and upper lakes of Bhopal, were accordingly evaluated. Microscopic examination of this study shows that Scenedesmus cell at low concentration (0.5 mgL-1) of copper sulphate has a diminutive stimulatory effect on cell dimension and the four cell aggregates maintain their normal morphological integrity with their bright green colour. As the concentration increases from 1.5 to 3mg L-1 the spines become slightly curved and cell body slightly shrunken showed a large amount of destructions and deformation with reduced cell dimensions. In existing work, Scenedesmus quadricauda shows an elevated cell morphometric variation at toxicity concentration 2.5mgL-1 to 3mgL-1 of copper sulphate.

Key words : Scenedesmus quadricauda, Copper sulphate, Algaecides, Aquatic ecosystem.

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