The seas provided a suitable site for the early evolution of all life. Ever since plants and animals developed structures and mechanisms that enabled them to survive on land, terrestrial and aquatic plants have been exposed to different abiotic and biotic selective pressures. Marine plants, which, unlike terrestrial plants, have evolved and adapted to life in a largely stable but saline environ...

To better understand seasonal variation in phytoplankton community structure in the East China Sea (ECS), 4 research cruises were carried out between August 2009 and June 2011 over the continental shelf. Phytoplankton community structure and ambient seawater physicochemical parameters were examined. The phytoplankton community in the ECS was mainly composed of diatoms and dinoflagellates, with ...

Cyanidium caldarium is a thermophilic, acidophilic alga with a cell d iameter of ca. 3 #. It has generally been assigned to the Cyanophyta (blue-green algae) bu t on the basis of morphology, p igment content, and life history, Hirose (2) suggested tha t it should be assigned to the R h o d o p h y t a (red algae). Cyanidium grows, respires, and photosynthesizes optimally at pH 2.0 to 3.0, and a...

Aphanizomenon flos-aquae (AFA) is a fresh water unicellular blue-green alga (cyanophyta) rich in phycocyanin (PC), a photosynthetic pigment with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ability of a novel natural extract from AFA enriched with PC to protect normal human erythrocytes and plasma samples against oxidative damage in vitro. In red b...

The aim of the present study was to investigate the zooplankton community at six reservoirs in the state of Pernambuco (Brazil). Zooplankton assemblages were identified using current literature and quantitatively analysed under a microscope and stereomicroscope. Concurrently to the sampling of zooplanktonic and phytoplanktonic communities, in situ measurements of abiotic variables, such as wate...

Due to the increasing use of artificial aerators in fish ponds, and to the lack of studies on this subject, this work studied some of the aspects associated with their use. The influence of a diffuser type aerator (AR 120) on the biotic and abiotic variables was evaluated in a fish pond. Three points of the pond were marked for the taking of samples: 5, 10 and 23 m from the aerator. Samples wer...

This paper presents two types of fuel cells: a miniature microbial fuel cell (μMFC) and a miniature photosynthetic electrochemical cell (μPEC). A bulk micromachining process is used to fabricate the fuel cells, and the prototype has an active proton exchange membrane area of 1 cm2. Two different micro-organisms are used as biocatalysts in the anode: (1) Saccharomyces cerevisiae (baker’s yeast) ...

Carnivorous aquatic plants, genus Utricularia (Lentibulariaceae), capture small aquatic organisms, such as rotifers, copepods, and cladocerans, by means of anatomical structures named bladders. The present study aimed to determine prey size and composition in U. gibba and U inflata, which were collected from a small lake and an herbaceous wetland, respectively, located in Paria Peninsula (Sucre...