The effect of limiting nutrient on metal toxicity to selenastrum capricornutum

Metal toxicity on selenastrum capricornutum were examined by batch culture and chemostat culture system. EC50 values under nutrient‐limited condition and saturated condition were compared. The two EC5Os differed by a factor of 10.6 for Cd in batch test, and differed by a factor of 6.5 in continuous test. Both batch and continuous test results indicate that inhibition on algal growth is more severe under nutrient‐limited conditions compared to that under near saturation conditions. Strong correlation, as characterized by the correlation coefficient ρ, were found between the activation level (nutrient requirement) and the tolerance of microorganisms to the toxicant. ρ is equal to 0.9 for the case of Cd in batch test and 0.6 in continuous test. The theory in this study provides generally good estimations to the dose‐response relationship at limiting nutrient conditions. The study indicate that nutrient conditions constitute an important factor in algal toxicity tests.