Kiselalgernas missbildningar under toxiska förhållanden
A research of 14 toxic affected study sites in Sweden showed a significant increased proportion of deformed diatoms.
The six metal polluted study sites in the region of Dalarna showed a 4, 2% average of deformed Fragilaria (deformed diatoms reference sites, 0, 1%).
The results also indicate a significant increased proportions of deformed diatoms in the eight pesticide polluted sites in the south and middle of Sweden, compared to the reference sites, howsoever the toxic content was low.
The results indicate that there are no lager differences in neither teratological forms nor variations that segregate metal polluted and pesticide polluted shells. One of the reasons may be that both heavy metals and pesticides can affect the development of the diatom shell.