Effects of Temperature and Salinity on Ammonium Uptake by Sargassum Muticum

Intensive aquaculture releases large amount of nutrients into aquatic ecosystems and can lead to eutrophication of coastal waters. The effect of salinity and temperature on absorption of ammonium by S. muticum were discussed in this paper. This study was conducted in laboratory to evaluate whether S. muticum could be cultivated efficiently for removing the ammonium from water. The results showed that, the two environmental factors, salinity and temperature, had significant effects on the uptake rates of ammonium. Significant differences in the uptake rates of ammonium among different temperatures or salinities were observed (P<;0.05). The optimistic of salinity and temperature of S. muticum were 20-25 and 25°C, respectively. The uptake rates of ammonium reached the highest 0.353 mg/[g(ww)·d] and 1.86mg/[g(ww)·d], and the ammonium removal rate were 54.3% and 74.9%, respectively. Therefore, S. muticum has high ability of uptaking nutrient from water environment, and could uptake ammonium effectively.