Author/Editor		Sansone, Umberto; Belli, Maria; Fernandez, Jose A; Comans, Rob NJ; Jeran, Zvonka; Cavolo, Fabio; Barbizzi, Sabrina; de Zorzi, Paolo; Jaćimović, Radojko
Title		Testing scandium method to quantify suspended particles adhesion to the external surface of periphyton communities
Type		članek
Source		Water Air Soil Pollut
Vol. and No.		Letnik 141
Publication year		2002
Volume		str. 313-24
Language		eng
Abstract		Aquarium experiments were performed to quantify the inorganic fraction of suspended particles deposited on the external suface of aquatic biota. The mass of suspended partices retained on the surfaces of microalge growing on sumberged sunstrates and the algal biomass were determined by comparing the scandium content of suspended material with that in algal comunities. Scandium, a predominantly soil-associated trace element, has been used as a tracer for the inorganic component of suspended particles, because this element id geologically ubiquitous in soils, and it is recognized that it cannot cross natural membranes of plants and other organisms. The algal biomass determined using the scandium content was compared with biomass values calculated using periphyton biomass. The results indicate that the suspended particle mass adhering to the external peripgyton surface may accounted for up to 55% of the total mass collected on submerged artificial substrates.
Descriptors		ALGAE WATER POLLUTANTS, CHEMICAL SCANDIUM NEUTRON ACTIVATION ANALYSIS BIOMASS CHLOROPHYLL ITALY