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  • The performance of diatom indices in assessing temporal changes in water quality in a large lowland river ecosystem

    Author(s)
    Tan, Xiang
    Liu, Yan
    Burford, Michele A
    Zhang, Quanfa
    Griffith University Author(s)
    Burford, Michele A.
    Year published
    2020
    Metadata
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    Abstract
    Benthic diatoms are often included in bioassessment programs of river health as sensitive indicators of nutrient status and pollution. Many diatom‐based indices have been developed and are frequently used to infer conditions in water quality. However, concerns have been raised regarding the robustness of these indices in riverine systems that have natural variability in environmental conditions, including seasonal change of water quality parameters, especially in terms of physical and chemical characteristics of water, which also influence diatom community composition. Here, we used three diatom‐based indices (Diatom‐based ...
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    Benthic diatoms are often included in bioassessment programs of river health as sensitive indicators of nutrient status and pollution. Many diatom‐based indices have been developed and are frequently used to infer conditions in water quality. However, concerns have been raised regarding the robustness of these indices in riverine systems that have natural variability in environmental conditions, including seasonal change of water quality parameters, especially in terms of physical and chemical characteristics of water, which also influence diatom community composition. Here, we used three diatom‐based indices (Diatom‐based eutrophication/pollution index, EPI‐D; Biological Diatom Index, IBD; Watanabe's Index, WAT), which have previously been validated as robust for water quality assessment in China, to explore their response to temporal changes in water quality and diatom community structure in a riverine network over time. Concentrations of total nitrogen (TN), nitrate nitrogen (NO3‐N), total phosphorus (TP), temperature (t), and turbidity in April 2010 were significantly higher than in November 2007. The 141 diatom taxa we found in April 2010 were fewer than the 194 taxa we found in November 2007. On both occasions, the three diatom indices responded to same water quality variables (phosphorus and chloride or nitrogen) as reported in previous studies. Of the three diatom indices tested, EPI‐D provided the most robust measure of natural seasonal changes in water quality and indicated the phosphorus and chloride. Our study confirms that these three diatom indices are effective for evaluating long‐term water quality in large rivers.
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    Journal Title
    River Research and Applications
    DOI
    https://doi.org/10.1002/rra.3754
    Note
    This publication has been entered as an advanced online version in Griffith Research Online.
    Subject
    Environmental management
    Ecology
    Environmental engineering
    Science & Technology
    Life Sciences & Biomedicine
    Physical Sciences
    Water Resources
    Publication URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/10072/400621
    Collection
    • Journal articles

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