The Role of Phytoplankton in Phycoremediation of Polluted Seawater: Risks, Benefits to Human Health, and a Focus on Diatoms in the Arabian Gulf

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Review for the paper "The Role of Phytoplankton in Phycoremediation of Polluted Seawater: Risks, Benefits to Human Health, and a Focus on Diatoms in the Arabian Gulf" by Al-Thani, R. F., Yasseen, B. T. submitted to "Water".

 

Marine phytoplankton account for about half of global photosynthesis, form the base of marine food webs, and remove atmospheric CO2 through the marine carbon pump. The phytoplankton of the shelf seas are of great importance as they contribute a significant proportion of total oceanic primary production and are responsible for the major annual global export of particulate organic carbon. Shelf phytoplankton form the base of food chains that support over 80% of all fisheries. Understanding the effects of climate change on the structure of shelf sea phytoplankton communities is therefore important for predicting the consequences for the carbon cycle and fisheries. Phytoplankton, which are sensitive to climatic fluctuations, are good indicators of environmental change and can reflect the overall health of the ecosystem. Recent research progress in phytoplankton ecology has led to a large number of phytoplankton publications focusing on phytoplankton dynamics. In order to summarize the main findings regarding the contribution of phytoplankton to ecosystem processes in the Arabian Gulf, the authors have conducted a research that summarizes the main results obtained in recent years. The paper is generally well written. However, there are some concerns regarding the novelty of the research and the interpretation of the main results. I have some suggestions to improve the paper. See below.

 

Major concerns.

 

1. Introduction. This part is not clear in terms of relevance to the field. Novelty and research gap are not identified.

 

2. I think that a special part must be included in the MS to show the main oceanographic features of the Arabian Gulf, because the environmental background is very important in the study of phytoplankton populations.

 

3. Phycoremediation of polluted waters is strongly dependent not only on phytoplankton but also on environmental conditions. The role of temperature, nutrients and oceanographic conditions as factors modifying phytoplankton physiology should be outlined in the MS.

 

4. I would like to see more comparisons with research done in other similar ecosystems.

 

Specific comments.

 

L47. Consider replacing "adapted" with "modified".

 

Fig. 1. Coordinates need to be added to the map.

Author Response

Dear Reviewer 1, Please find attached our response to your comments below: 

 

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This review on “The role of phytoplankton in phycoremediation of polluted seawater: Risks, benefits to human health, and a focus on diatoms in the Arabian Gulf” provides a comprehensive summary of diatom’s potential roles in phycoremediation and their species, bioactive compounds, and potential applications in environmental remediation. The manuscript is generally well written (in terms of English and general presentation). Overall, this paper is worthy to apply and have validity in other seas. However, I would encourage the authors to slightly improve the manuscript according to my suggestions as below.

My major suggested improvement for this review could include synthesis of key findings and detailed research gaps, with evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of previous studies. The long listing diatom species and their roles could make readers difficult to understand. Some relevant summary tables should be provided rather than listing those. Additionally, this review would be much better to include some discussion on different phycoremediation approaches with their limitations and knowledge gaps.

Author Response

Dear Reviewer 2,

Please find our response to your comments below:

 

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The authors have revised the paper. 

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The authors have well improved their manuscript based on my previous comments.