Review of the potential use of brown algal ecotoxicological assays in monitoring effluent discharge and pollution in southern Australia

The temperate near-shore reefs of southern Australasia possess diverse assemblages of brown algal macrophytes which underpin major grazing and detrital food chains in medium to high energy coastal habitats. These ‘kelpʹ communities are at risk from effluent discharge with documented decline of macrophyte stands in areas subject to outfall. Recent studies utilising reproductive endpoints of several Australian species in ecotoxicological assays have highlighted their sensitivity to pollution. Results indicate an acceptable degree of reproducibility for assays with variation in response between taxa presumably related to differing habitat requirements and potential for stress resulting from toxicant/pollution exposure. Species studied are drawn from the orders Laminariales and Fucales, with the latter in particular offering substantial scope for further investigation. The greatest diversity of fucoid algae is found in south-eastern Australia and closely related taxa occur in similar latitudes in both the southern and northern hemispheres. The broad distribution of taxa from both taxonomic groups enables ready comparison of assays from disparate locations and offers the potential for simple, routine toxicological testing and habitat monitoring across broad geographic ranges.