Diatoms as Bioindicators of Water Quality

1
Diatoms as Bioindicators of Water Quality

• Cassandra Messina
• April 19, 2005
• ECOL 475

2
Some Diatom Background

• Occur only as single cells or chains of cells
• 285 genera and 10,000-12,000 recognized species
• Diversity is rivaled among the algae only by the
  green algae
• Probably the most numerous of eukaryotic aquatic
  organisms
• In terms of primary productivity, the most
  important aquatic photosynthesizers

3
Pennate Diatoms

• Bilateral symmetry
• Two large, platelike plastids
• Raphid pennates
• Araphid pennates

4
Centric Diatoms

• Cylindrical cells
• Radial symmetry
• Many plastids

5
Water Quality in Streams

• Pennate diatoms dominated
• Parameters tested
• pH
• dissolved oxygen saturation
• Biological oxygen demand (BOD)
• Total nitrogen and phosphorous
• Amount of inorganic nitrogen

6
Agricultural Pollution

• Due to nutrient runoff and erosion
• Benthic algae to evaluate water quality
• Analyzed variables
• pH
• Temperature
• Turbidity
• Total dissolved nitrogen, phosphorous, and
  organic carbon

7
Streams of the Kathmandu Valley and Middle Hills

• Assess stream character, water chemistry, and
  habitat structure
• Poor water quality due to release of industrial,
  communal, and domestic sewage without sufficient
  treatment
• Streams of the Kathmandu Valley had a higher
  percentage of pollution tolerant species than
  streams of the Middle Hills

8
Works Cited

• Graham, et.al. 2000. Algae. p241.
• Juttner, et.al. 2003. Diatoms as indicators of
  stream quality in the Kathmandu Valley and Middle
  Hills of Nepal and India. Freshwater Biology 48
  (11) 2065-2085.
• Kitner, et.al. 2003. Littoral diatoms as
  indicators for the eutrophication of shallow
  lakes. Hydrobiologia 506 (1-3) 519-524.
• Sonneman, et.al. 2001. Effects of urbanization
  on the streams of the Melbourne region, Victoria,
  Australia. Freshwater Biology 48 (4) 553-565.
• Tien, Chien-Jung. 2004. Some aspects of water
  quality in a polluted lowland river in relation
  to the intracellular chemical levels in
  planktonic and epilithic diatoms. Water research
  38 (7) 1779-1790.
• Vilbaste, Sirje. 2004. Application of diatom
  indices in the evaluation of the water quality in
  Estonian streams. Proceedings of the Estonian
  Academy of Sciences, Biology, Ecology 53 (1)
  37-51.
• Warwick, et.al. 2004. Benthic algae as
  bioindicators of agricultural pollution in the
  streams and rivers of southern Quebec (Canada).
  Aquatic Ecosystem Health and Management 7 (1)
  43-58.