Effect of caffeine on the growth and photosynthetic efficiency of marine macroalgae

Document Type

Article

Date of Original Version

2-1-2021

Abstract

Caffeine is present in coastal environments worldwide and there is a need to assess its impact on marine organisms. Here, we exposed two species of ecologically important marine macroalgae (Chondrus crispus and Codium fragile subsp. fragile) to a suite of caffeine concentrations and measured their response. Caffeine concentrations of 10-100 ng L-1 had no significant effect on the growth rate or photosynthetic efficiency of either algae. Extremely high concentrations (100-200 mg L-1), which may occur acutely, produced sublethal effects for both species and mortality in C. fragile subsp. fragile. Our results highlight the need to understand how caffeine impacts marine species.

Publication Title, e.g., Journal

Botanica Marina

Volume

64

Issue

1

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