The ecological impacts of microalgae on higher trophic levels, particularly eukaryotic plankton communities, are not well understood

The gap

Evidence profile

Sourced from the stated research gap and future work of the source papers, classified as general, drawn from work published between 2024 and 2026, spanning 3 journals. Those papers have been cited 20 times in total.

Supporting evidence — 3 representative gaps

• Microalgal Inoculation Modulates the Size-Dependent Assembly and Short-Term Stability of Eukaryotic Plankton Communities in Shrimp-Rearing Water (2026) · Environments · doi

  The ecological impacts of microalgae on higher trophic levels, particularly eukaryotic plankton communities, are not well understood. There is a lack of studies investigating the effects of microalgae on the size-dependent assembly and short-term stability of eukaryotic plankton communities. The potential of microalgae-based management strategies for improving water quality and nutrient management in intensive aquaculture systems is not fully explored.

  generalstated research gap
  Keywords: ecological impacts microalgae higher trophic levels particularly eukaryotic
• Bridging biodiversity research gaps in indigenous microalgae from palm oil mill effluent: a bibliometric and ecological assessment with implications for carbon biofixation (2026) · Biodiversity and Conservation · doi

  The identification of indigenous microalgal species in POME stabilization ponds provides a foundation for future studies investigating their ecological functions and biotechnologi- cal potential. Further research should evaluate the growth characteristics, nutrient uptake capacity, and physiological responses of the identified strains under controlled cultivation conditions. In particular, dominant taxa such as Chlorella and Scenedesmus warrant further investigation because of their widespread occurrence across the sampled ponds and their reported adaptability to nutrient-rich wastewater environments. Future studies should also examine the carbon assimilation efficiency, photosynthetic performance, and biomass productivity of these indigenous microalgae to assess their suit- ability for wastewater treatment and resource recovery applications. Additionally, integrated morphological, molecular, and physiological analyses would contribute to a more compre- hensive understanding of the ecological roles and practical applications of microalgal com- munities associated with POME treatment systems. These investigations will be necessary to validate any potential large-scale applications suggested by the present findings. The present study demonstrates that indigenous microalgae isolated from POME are capable of growing under controlled laboratory conditions and exhibit measurable CO₂ biofixation potential. Maximum cell densities reached up to 3.12 × 106 cells mL⁻1, while specific growth rates (µ) ranged from 1.16 to 0.66 day⁻1 across treatments. Estimated inter- val-based CO₂ biofixation rates were on the order of 10⁻2–10⁻1 g CO₂ L⁻1 day⁻1 during peak 1 3Biodiversity and Conservation (2026) 35:255255 Page 38 of 43 exponential growth phases, particularly in treatments 4–M2 and 4–M1. These results indi- cate that indigenous POME-derived microalgae may have potential for carbon assimilation and wastewater-based cultivation systems under optimized laboratory conditions. Future research should prioritize a more detailed investigation of cultivation dynamics across growth phases, particularly the exponential stage where both specific growth rate and estimated CO₂ biofixation were highest. The observed variation between treatments (e.g., higher µ in 7–M1–L2 but higher biomass accumulation in 4–M2–L2) suggests a trade-off between growth rate and maximum biomass yield. However, this interpretation remains preliminary due to the absence of detailed physiological and environmental measurements. Further studies using controlled photobioreactor systems and continuous cultivation strate- gies (e.g., semi-continuous harvesting) are required to verify whether maintaining cultures in exponential phase can improve time-averaged productivity and carbon uptake. At the system level, future work should explore integration of microalgal cultivation with POME treatment processes and CO₂-rich gas streams from palm oil mill operations. The use of flue gas or biogas-derived CO₂ may enhance dissolved inorganic carbon availability; however, the extent of improvement requires experimental validation under non-laboratory conditions. Scale-up studies should also evaluate reactor configurations such as high-rate algal ponds, tubular systems, or hybrid photobioreactors, particularly considering chal- lenges related to light penetration, mixing efficiency, and turbidity in POME-based media. Further biological characterization is also necessary to better understand strain-level per- formance. The strong performance of indigenous microalgae observed in this study sup- ports the need for future work involving molecular identification, physiological profiling, and adaptive cultivation under varying CO₂ and nutrient conditions. Comparative studies between monocultures and mixed consortia should be conducted to evaluate trade-offs between productivity, stability, and environmental resilience. Finally, future research should integrate biomass production and CO₂ biofixation with downstream valorization pathways, such as biofertilizer, bioenergy, or bio-based products. A more comprehensive assessment framework combining growth kinetics, biomass produc- tivity, and carbon fixation—supported by direct carbon measurements—will be essential for evaluating the true feasibility of POME-based microalgal systems. Overall, while the present results provide encouraging preliminary insights, further validation at pilot and field scale is required before any conclusions regarding industrial applicability or circular bio- economy integration can be made.

  generalfuture workevidence 5/5
  Keywords: pome growth future cultivation carbon indigenous further conditions biomass systems based microalgal potential physiological microalgae
• Getting Grip on Phosphorus: Potential of Microalgae as a Vehicle for Sustainable Usage of This Macronutrient (2024) · Plants · cited 20× · doi

  Sustainable usage of P, an irreplaceable macronutrient, is essential to solve the pressing problem, i.e., to ensure food security for the increasing population while preserving fragile ecosystem services and biodiversity. This problem is exacerbated by the exhaustion of water and fossil energy supply (which are necessary for the processing of rock phosphate) as well as by geopolitical complications. Stricter P discharge regulations are expected to intensify the cooperation of wastewater treatment plants and industrial partners, also in the field of bioremediation and circular bioeconomy. According to [6], a favored strategy in Germany is mono-combustion of the sludge and purification of the Pi from the residual ash which can be, in principle, accomplished with microalgal cultures. This review clearly shows that microalgae have a formidable potential for valorizing P-rich waste to increase the sustainability of the usage of this indispensable macronutrient. The scientific community has made significant progress in understanding the interactions in the P microalgae–plant–environment system. Such advances have improved our understanding of the mechanisms of P acquisition, allocation, and regulation thereof at the molecular, cellular, organism, and community levels. Still, current knowledge of P metabolism and its regulation in microalgae is insufficient for the development of a robust, economically viable technology harnessing microalgae for efficient capture of P from waste and turning it into valuable products. Particularly promising are the biofertilizers from P-rich microalgal biomass helping to re-route P from the anthropogenic output to agricultural ecosystems. Thus, the evidence on the interplay between native soil microbiome and the microbiome of microalgal culture introduced to the soil with microalgal biomass remains scarce and often limited to phenomenological descriptions. P biofertilizers from microalgal biomass will especially be beneficial and hence most efficient when applied to marginal soils and soils low on organic carbon content. Further effort is required to identify the strains combining a high P biocapture efficiency with resilience to wastewater components and fast growth capability. Native and artificial consortia formed by diverse microbes around microalgae deserve close attention in this regard for their synergistic beneficial effects on the soil and crop plants. More field tests including different crops, soil types, and agronomic practices needed to evaluate the agronomic efficiency of the microalgae-based P biofertilizers. A basic problem is finding the most economically efficient cultivation system and cutting down on microalgal biomass production costs. Most likely it will be an outdoor growing system leveraging local waste nutrient sources (waste streams and concentrated CO2, e.g., fro

  generalfuture workevidence 5/5
  Keywords: microalgal microalgae waste cient biomass soil problem system biofertilizers cial usage macronutrient wastewater plants rich

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