Diatom community structure and relationship with water quality in Lake Sibaya, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Kock, Anrich; Taylor, Jonathan C.; Malherbe, Wynand

doi:10.1016/j.sajb.2019.03.013

Cited by 17 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…However, the high amount of phosphate values noted inside the swamps could be attributed to the high amount of biologically non-available P, which is not readily available to biological organisms in terms of their productivity [74]. Dissolved oxygen is crucial for the survival of organisms inside the water body [27]. In the current study, DO values across the swamps varied between 6.5-8.5 mg/L, indicating biological stable wetlands.…”

Section: Water Qualitymentioning

confidence: 52%

“…As aquatic organisms are regularly exposed to that environment, they can provide time-integrated information about the environmental conditions and the ecological health of the ecosystem [26]. In shallow water bodies like swamps or wetlands, because of their varied inundation time and depths, it is problematic to use fish and invertebrates as biological indicators [27], especially in monsoon-driven high energy systems like the Western Ghats. In such a scenario, diatoms can act as excellent bioindicators of this Ecobiome.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Response of Diatoms to the Changing Water Quality in the Myristica Swamps of the Western Ghats, India

Thacker

Karthick

2022

Diversity

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Myristica swamps are one of the rarest wetland ecosystems within the sub-tropical evergreen forests of the Western Ghats, India. As their name indicates, they harbor trees belonging to the ancient family Myristicaceae. Due to the waterlogged conditions and high humic decomposition, these swamps are acidic, harbor rare and endemic biotas, and provide ecosystem services to humans. Monitoring this rare ecosystem is crucial because the swamps that once formed a large hydrological network across the Western Ghats are now confined to isolated patches due to human disturbance such as agricultural interventions, roads, and dam construction. Due to the change in land use, there is also a drastic change in water chemistry and associated biodiversity. Biomonitoring is more precise than physical and chemical monitoring. So, the current study aimed to undertake a comprehensive analysis of the physical, chemical, and biological assessment of these swamps. The diatom assemblages are strongly affected by water chemistry and serve as a powerful indicator of environmental changes in the freshwater aquatic systems. However, there is no information on diatom assemblages in these swamps, and the present study aimed to determine the diatom assemblage structure in the Myristica swamps and their response to changing water quality. Diatom samples were taken at 17 different swamps across the central Western Ghats, and a set of environmental parameters was evaluated. Analysis revealed a total of 91 species of diatoms belonging to 27 genera across the 17 sites, from which 44 diatom species showed restricted distribution to this unique environment. Overall, the dominant diatom genera inside the swamps included, Navicula (19.8%), Gomphonema (16%), Eunotia (13.3%), Ulnaria (9.4%), Achnanthidium (8%), Frustulia (6.2%), Planothidium (5.2%), and Brachysira (2.8%). High diatom species richness was observed in the swamps having less anthropogenic disturbance, and diatom assemblage composition was primarily determined by dissolved oxygen, pH, and conductivity. The significant number of geographically restricted taxa in this study points towards our limited understanding of this tropical biome and calls for a dire need for more studies from here, not only to improve our knowledge concerning the diversity, ecology, and biogeography of these diatoms but to further encourage their use in applied (paleo) environmental sciences. Our results indicate that diatoms can prove useful environmental indicators even in harsh environments like swamps and can be a potential tool for assessing ecological and climatic change.

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Section: Water Qualitymentioning

confidence: 52%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Response of Diatoms to the Changing Water Quality in the Myristica Swamps of the Western Ghats, India

Thacker

Karthick

2022

Diversity

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“…The study site is characterised by a relatively flat terrain, with elevation ranging from 400 to 406 meters above sea level (Figure 2a). The average annual temperature and rainfall in the area is 21.7 • C and 731 mm, respectively [44]. The 12 ha banana plantation is dominated by Hutton, Westleigh, Valsrivier, and Glenrosa soils [39], which are broadly defined by the World Reference Base for soil resources as Lixisols, Plinthosols, Cambisols, and Leptosols, respectively [45].…”

Section: Site Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Utilisation of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Soil Information to Derive Soil Nutrient Management Zones for Banana Production in a Smallholder Farm

Swafo,

Dlamini

2023

Land

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In South Africa (SA), smallholder farmers contribute significantly to food production and play an essential role in the nation’s food and nutritional security. However, there is a lack of basic understanding of the spatial variability of soil nutrients and their controlling factors in these smallholdings, which subsequently hinders their agricultural production. In this work, we assessed the spatial variability and structure of key soil nutrients required by banana fruit, identified their factors of control, and delineated management zones in a smallholder farm. We used a regular grid (50 m × 50 m) to collect a total of 27 composite samples from the 0–30 cm depth interval and analysed for soil physicochemical properties. Our classical statistics results indicated that phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca) and zinc (Zn) varied highly, while magnesium (Mg) and total nitrogen (TN) varied moderately across the plantation. On the other hand, geostatistics revealed that P and K were strongly spatially dependent (implying a good structure), while Mg and Zn were moderately spatially dependent (indicating a moderate structure) across the banana plantation. Soil Ca and TN contents were found to be weakly spatially dependent (meaning there was no structure) across the farm. The spatial prediction maps showed that P, Mg and Zn contents were high in the northeast part (underlain by Valsrivier) and low in the northwest part (underlain by Westleigh) of the banana plantation farm. Similarly, K and Ca were low in the northwest part (underlain by Westleigh), but they were high in the south to southwest portion (underlain by Glenrosa) of the farm. Soil TN was high in the west part (underlain by Westleigh) and low in the east-northeast part (underlain by Valsrivier) across the plantation. Three management zones (MZs) were delineated for soil P, K and Ca, while for other nutrients (Mg, Zn and TN), two MZs were delineated. The results of this study provide baseline information for site-specific management of fertilisers to supplement soil nutrients in the field to improve banana productivity.

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“…Diatoms react directly to many physical, chemical, and biological changes in water ecosystems, such as temperature and concentration of nutrients [55]. They also respond to chemical changes in the water, seasons, and physical variables [56][57][58][59]. Diatom species have very strong relationships with nutrients such as salinity, alkaline conductivity, and total phosphate, which can be measured at different stations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using Algal Indices to Assess the Ecological Condition of the Aras River, Northwestern Iran

Parikhani,

Atazadeh,

Razeghi

et al. 2023

JMSE

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This work is the first in a series, and its purpose is the comprehensive assessment of the ecological state of the Aras River using biological indicators of water quality by diatoms based on species’ ecological preferences, pollution indices, statistics, and ecological mapping. Samples of diatoms and soft algae and measurements of water quality were analyzed at sixteen sampling sites (between 2020 and 2022) along the Aras River. The impact of anthropological activity on the river was monitored concerning water quality, river health, and ecosystem function. The physical and chemical characteristics of the water were measured. The biological properties of the algal periphyton communities, including species composition, were also measured. Based on the studies conducted in this research, 280 species were identified. The most prosperous species were Diatoma vulgaris, Amphora ovalis, Cocconeis placentula, Rhoicosphenia abbre-viatae, Cymbella helvetica, Brevisira arentii, Navicula tripunctata, Nitzschia linearis, Microcystis botrys, Microcystis aeruginosa, Pseudanabaena limnetica, Scenedesmus obliquus, and Pleurosira laevis (a pollution-resistant and salinity-resistant species first found in aquatic habitats in the Aras River). As a result, the empirical data and algal indices showed the river’s lower reaches to be in poor condition. Exploration of the algal assemblage and water chemistry data using computationally unconstrained ordination techniques such as principal component analysis (PCA) and canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) indicated two strong gradients in the data sets. The results support that water body classification is a function of water chemistry and biological and hydrological characteristics, as it is necessary to include pollutant effects on biota since the nature of the receiving waters influences the river’s water quality.

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Diatom community structure and relationship with water quality in Lake Sibaya, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Cited by 17 publications

References 31 publications

Response of Diatoms to the Changing Water Quality in the Myristica Swamps of the Western Ghats, India

Response of Diatoms to the Changing Water Quality in the Myristica Swamps of the Western Ghats, India

Utilisation of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Soil Information to Derive Soil Nutrient Management Zones for Banana Production in a Smallholder Farm

Using Algal Indices to Assess the Ecological Condition of the Aras River, Northwestern Iran

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