Algae play an important role in the ecosystem; they are the main source of food for higher-level aquatic organisms. Algae are the starting links of many food chains in the ecosystem. Secondly, algae produce vast amounts of oxygen that is vital for life on earth. This study investigates the use of algae as bio-indicators by taking advantage of algae's natural ability to absorb and concentrate constituents in water. Environmental estrogens serve as the contaminant of a growing colony of algae and the impact of the estrogens on the algae is assessed.
A controlled colony of algae is grown in the laboratory and then analyzed using a Hydrolab water quality multiprobe. Some of the algae is then exposed to endocrine disruptors and then monitored again. Comparison of the two sets of data indicates the effect that environmental estrogens have on algae cells.
Understanding the impact of environmental estrogens on algae is important since algae conditions affect the well being of the whole ecosystem. Algae are at the bottom of the food chain, so if they contain estrogens they pose a problem for all consumers in higher order levels of the food chain. This leads to the bioaccumulation phenomenon where the concentration of estrogens continues to increase as we go up the food chain. Therefore, when environmental estrogens reach humans in the form of food such as fish, they are in concentrations that can disrupt the normal functioning of the body.