On the use of diatom-based biological monitoring Part 2: A comparison of the response of SASS 5 and diatom indices to water quality and habitat variation

Abstract

Due to the fact that South Africa is a water-scarce country, integrated water resource management based on sound information is essential. Bio-indicators have provided valuable information for water resource management in recent years and have enjoyed increasing popularity. Bio-indicators especially stepped to the forefront with the realisation that aquatic ecosystems are not only a source of water but also deliver several goods and services, as well as being essential for industrial growth and quality of life of many South Africans. This study aimed to quantitatively test two kinds of biomonitoring tools namely diatom-based (SPI and BDI) and macro-invertebrate based (SASS 5) in order to assess their applicability in South African River systems; and whether any additional information can be gained by using the two tools in tandem. The results showed that diatom indices are affected more by changes in water quality than SASS 5, while SASS 5 displayed a higher dependency on habitat quality, as measured by IHAS, than the diatom indices. It is therefore suggested that the two indices be utilised as complementary indicators for integrated assessment of river health.

Diversity and distribution of lacustrine diatoms along the Trans‐Mexican Volcanic Belt

“…Diatoms are unicellular, photosynthetic organisms, present in the phytoplankton and phytobenthos of most aquatic ecosystems (Battarbee et al, 2002; Julius & Theriot, 2010). Their ecological distribution along environmental gradients such as pH, salinity or trophic gradients has been studied in different regions of the world, frequently to use them as a tool for water quality evaluation (De La Rey et al, 2008; Lobo et al, 2016; Stenger‐Kovács et al, 2007) or for the reconstruction of past environments (Fritz et al, 1993; Gasse et al, 1995; Wilson et al, 1996). Furthermore, in recent decades macroecological studies, which traditionally were undertaken with larger organisms, have extended to include microorganisms such as diatoms (Soininen & Teittinen, 2019).…”

On the use of diatom-based biological monitoring Part 1: A comparison of the response of diversity and aut-ecological diatom indices to water quality variables in the Marico-Molopo River catchment

“…This paper (Part 1) tests the performance of two approaches to the use of diatoms as bio-indicators namely diversity indices and aut-ecological indices. The second part of this paper (Part 2) (De la Rey, 2008) compares the performance of diatom-based indices with that of a macro-invertebrate index (SASS 5) in terms their ability to indicate changes in water quality variables.…”

What do diatom indices indicate? Modeling the specific pollution sensitivity index

“…There is a need for metrics that can provide information on specific aspects of biological quality to clearly communicate the information provided by their summarized numerical value (Monaghan 2016 ). Previous efforts to modelize the response of diatom metrics (e.g., SPI) to limnological variables (de la Rey et al 2008 ; Novais et al 2014 ; Tan et al 2017 ) were based on limited datasets and/or spatiotemporal scopes. This paper addresses this question by analyzing benthic diatom communities collected in the largest Iberian basin over a span of 3 years, testing previous assumptions that SPI mainly mirrors nutrient concentrations in rivers.…”