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Effects of Nitrogen and Population Density on the Competition Between Spirodela polyrhiza and Microcystis Sp. Under Laboratory Conditions

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Abstract

Microcystis is commonly found in duckweed-based treatment systems, which greatly affects the duckweed growth and performance of the system. In this study, the effects of nitrogen and population density on duckweed and microalgae competition were investigated in terms of their growth sensitivity response to mutual competition under laboratory conditions. A comparatively strong mutual competition between S. polyrhiza and Microcystis sp. was observed at nitrogen concentrations of 5 and 10 mg N/L. At high nitrogen concentrations (40 mg N/L), the growth of Microcystis sp. was remarkably inhibited, which facilitated the S. polyrhiza growth. The magnitude of competitive activity between S. polyrhiza and Microcystis sp. displayed a density-dependent trend. Under 100% duckweed coverage, the intraspecific competition was stronger than the interspecific competition. This study will greatly facilitate the biocontrol of Microcystis sp. development in the duckweed-based water treatment system and improve the system’s efficiency.

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Data Availability

All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article and the supplementary file.

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Funding

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31700108, 32071521), the Carbon Peak and Carbon Neutrality Technology Innovation Foundation of Jiangsu Province (BK20220030), the Senior Talent Scientific Research Initial Funding Project of Jiangsu University (17JDG017), the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PAPD), and the Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Technology and Material of Water Treatment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Environmental Health and Ecological Security, School of the Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212013, People’s Republic of China

    Yan Li, Hui Zhang, Zongyan Huang, Shanwei Li & Daolin Du

  2. Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Technology and Material of Water Treatment, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou, 215009, People’s Republic of China

    Yan Li

  3. College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100000, People’s Republic of China

    Jieyu Zhao

  4. College of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Tianjin Agricultural University, Tianjin, 300000, People’s Republic of China

    Fan Zhang

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  1. Yan Li
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Contributions

Daolin Du and Yan Li acquired the project and provided the funding. Yan Li conceived the idea, designed and supervised the experiment, and wrote the manuscript; Hui Zhang, Zongyan Huang, and Fan Zhang conducted the experiment and analyzed the data. Jieyu Zhao and Shanwei Li revised the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Yan Li.

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Li, Y., Zhang, H., Huang, Z. et al. Effects of Nitrogen and Population Density on the Competition Between Spirodela polyrhiza and Microcystis Sp. Under Laboratory Conditions. Water Air Soil Pollut 234, 661 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-023-06665-2

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