Numerous pollutants affect marine ecosystems. One of the compounds recognized as
contaminants of emerging concern (CEC) are various pharmaceuticals. They are
designed to be highly active at very low concentrations, thus they may constitute a
serious threat to marine organisms since the marine water bodies are the final sinks for
chemical substances discharged into the environment. Despite the fact that in recent
years they have been the focus of many researchers, data on the influence of
pharmaceuticals on microalgal communities remains relatively scares (e.g., Johansson et
al. 2014). Furthermore, there is also a lack of information on the combined effects of
pharmaceuticals and other environmental variables, while such interactions may
significantly alter microalgal response to pollutants (e.g., Diniz et al. 2021). This
internship aims to assess the influence of ciprofloxacin (a recalcitrant antimicrobial
agent commonly found in marine waters) on microphytobenthic communities.
Ecotoxcity of ciprofloxacin will be studied using algal growth inhibition tests (as
described in ISO recommendations) applying a wide range of drug concentrations;
Diversity of microphytobenthos will be investigated via multiple techniques, including:
(i) classical microscopic observations, (ii) marker pigment analysis and (iii)
metabarcoding approach. Subsequently, generated data will be used to describe
functional diversity of microphytobenthos and its variations driven by the presence of
the drug. In addition, chlorophyll a fluorescence will be measured to track potential
changes in photosynthetic performance of the studied communities, and thus its
primary production
