The Growth ofMonoraphidiumsp. andScenedesmussp. Cells in the Presence of Thorium
Toxicity of thorium byMonoraphidiumsp. andScenedesmussp. was studied. Microalgal cultures were inoculated in ASM-1 medium in presence and absence of thorium. Its effect was monitored by direct counting on Fuchs-Rosenthal chamber and with software. The toxicity of thorium over the species was observed for concentrations over 50.0 mg/L. After 30 days,Monoraphidiumcells decreased their concentration from4.23×106to4.27×105and8.57×105 cells/mL, in the presence of 50.0 and 100.0 mg/L of thorium, respectively.Scenedesmussp. cells were more resistant to thorium: for an initial cell concentration of7.65×104 cells/mL it was observed a change to5.25×105and5.12×105 cells/mL, in the presence of thorium at 50.0 and 100.0 mg/L, respectively. This is an indication that low concentrations of the radionuclide favored the growth, and thatScenedesmuscells are more resistant to thorium thanMonoraphidiumcells. The software used for comparison with direct count method proved to be useful for the improvement of accuracy of the results obtained, a decrease in the uncertainty and allowed recording of the data. The presence of thorium suggests that low concentrations have a positive effect on the growth, due to the presence of the nitrate, indicating its potential for ecotoxicological studies.