RESPONSE OF PHYTOPLANKTON COMMUNITIES OF THE BERING AND CHUKCHI SEAS TO CERTAIN ORGANIC POLLUTANTS AND HEAVY METALS (17th Symposium on Polar Biology)

The purpose of this work is to study and compare the response of plankton communities of the Bering and Chukchi Seas to cadmium, copper, benzo(a) pyrene and polychlorinated biphenyls. Ecotoxicological experiments were carried out during the Third Soviet-US expedition on board of the research vessel ACADEMIC KOROLEV in 1988. The primary production of organic substance was used as a criterion to measure the toxicity. Critical concentrations (LC_) obtained from "dose-eflect" curves were used as the response of the community. The strongest influence on the phytoplankton primary production in the Bering and Chukchi Seas was found to be caused by benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) followed by copper (Cu), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and cadmium (Cd). Average values of LC_ for every station are presented. Based on the data, the present state of the Bering and Chukchi Seas ecosystems, concerning the influence of chemical pollution on phytoplankton, is discussed.