Jamileh PANAHY MIRZAHASANLOU, Taher NEJADSATTARI, Zohreh RAMEZANPOUR, Javid IMANPOUR NAMIN, Younes ASRI

The epilithic and epipelic diatom flora of the Balikhli River, Northwest Iran

The taxonomic composition of diatom flora of the Balikhli River (Balikhli Chay), Northwest Iran, was studied from October 2013 through September 2014. In total 109 taxa belonging to 50 genera were identified. Nitzschia (18 spp.), Navicula (9 spp.), and Gomphonema (7 spp.) were the most abundant genera. Twenty-five diatom species were found in more than half of the samples; among them, Nitzschia inconspicua, Planothidium lanceolatum, Amphora pediculus, Navicula trivialis, Gomphonema olivaceum, Nitzschia palea, and Rhoicosphenia abbreviata were the most abundant taxa, which are characteristic for alkaline and eutrophic waters. The centric diatoms constituted only 4.54% of all identified taxa. In this study 20 taxa were recorded for the first time for the aquatic ecosystems of Iran.

Keywords:

Ardabil Province, diatoms, epilithic, epipelic, taxonomic composition,

PDF

___

Andrejic JZ, Krizmanic J, Cvijan M (2012). Diatom species composition of the Nisava River and its tributaries Jerma and Temska Rivers (southern Serbia). Arch Biol Sci 64: 1127-1140.
APHA (1999). Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater . Washington, DC, USA: American Public Health Association.
Atazadeh I, Sharifi M, Kelly MG (2007). Evaluation of the Trophic Diatom Index for assessing water quality in River Gharasou, western Iran. Hydrobiologia 589: 165-173.
Bellinger EG, Sigee DC (2010). Freshwater Algae: Identification and Use as Bioindicators. 1st ed. Chichester, UK: Wiley-Blackwell Press.
Cantonati M (1998). Diatom communities of springs in the Southern Alps. Diatom Res 13: 201-220.
Cantonati M, Angeli N, Bertuzzi E, Spitale D, Lange-Bertalot H (2012). Diatoms in springs of the Alps: spring types, environmental determinants and substratum. Freshw Sci 31: 499-524.
Compere P (1981). Algues des déserts d’Iran. Bulletin de Jardin Botanique Nationale de Belgique 51: 3-40 (in French).
Cox EJ (1988). Has the role of the substratum been underestimated for algal distribution patterns in freshwater ecosystems? Biofouling 1: 49-63.
Delgado C, Ector L, Novais MH, Blanco S, Hoffmann L, Prado I (2013). Epilithic diatoms of springs and spring-fed streams in Majorca Island (Spain) with the description of a new diatom species Cymbopleura margalefii sp. nov. Fottea 13: 87-104.
Fourtanier E, Kociolek J P (2009). Catalogue of Diatom Names. San Francisco, CA, USA: California Academy of Sciences.
Gesierich D, Kofler W (2010). Epilithic diatoms from rheocrene springs in the eastern Alps (Vorarlberg, Austria). Diatom Res 25: 43-66.
Guiry MD, Guiry GM (2014). AlgaeBase. World-Wide Electronic Publication. Galway, Ireland: National University of Ireland, Galway. Available online at http://www.algaebase.org.
Hirano M (1973). Freshwater algae from Mesopotamia. Contributions of Biological Laboratory of Kyoto University 24: 105–119.
Hutchinson GE (1967). A Treatise on Limnology. Vol. 2. Introduction to Lake Biology and the Limnoplankton. New York, NY, USA: John Wiley & Sons.
Jamalou F, Fallahian F, Nejadsattari T, Majd A (2005). Diatom flora of the Jajrud River. Journal of Environmental Science and Technology 7: 98-113 (in Persian).
Kawecka B (1986). The effect of light deficiency on communities of sessile algae in the Olczyski stream (Tatra Mts, Poland). Acta Hydrobiologica 28: 379-386.
Kelly MG, Bennion H, Cox EJ, Goldsmith B, Jamieson J, Juggins S, Mann DG, Telford RJ (2005). Common Freshwater Diatoms of Britain and Ireland: An Interactive Key. Bristol, UK: Environment Agency.
Kelly MG, Whitton BA (1995). The trophic diatom index: a new index for monitoring eutrophication in rivers. J Appl Phycol 7: 433- 444.
Kheiri S, Nejadsattari T, Hamdi S, Asri Y (2012). Periphytic diatom flora of River Karaj and 25 new records from Iran. Journal of Biology 7: 1-22 (in Persian).
Komulaynen S (2009). Diatoms of periphyton assemblages in small rivers in Northwestern Russia. Studi trentini di scienze naturali 84: 153-160.
Krammer K, Lange-Bertalot H (1986). Bacillariophyceae, 1. Naviculaceae. Susswasserflora von Mitteleuropa, Vol. 1. Jena, Germany: Gustav Fischer Verlag (in German).
Krammer K, Lange-Bertalot H (1988). Bacillariophyceae, 2. Bacillariaceae, Epithemiaceae, Surirellaceae. Susswasserflora von Mitteleuropa, Vol. 2. Stuttgart, Germany: Gustav Fischer Verlag (in German).
Krammer K, Lange-Bertalot H (1991a). Bacillariophyceae, 3. Centrales, Fragilariaceae, Eunotiaceae. Susswasserflora von Mitteleuropa, Vol. 3. Stuttgart, Germany: Gustav Fischer Verlag (in German).
Krammer K, Lange-Bertalot H (1991b). Bacillariophyceae, 4. Achnanthaceae. Kritische Erganzungen zu Navicula (Lineolatae) und Gomphonema. Susswasserflora von Mitteleuropa, Vol. 4. Stuttgart, Germany: Gustav Fischer Verlag (in German).
Lee RE (2008). Phycology. 4th ed. New York, NY, USA: Cambridge University Press.
Lobo EA, Callegaro VL, Bender P (2002). Utilização de algas diatomáceas epilíticas comoindicadoras da qualidade da água em rios e arroios da Região Hidrográfica do Guaíba, RS, Brasil. Santa Cruz do Sul, Brazil: Edunisc (in Portuguese).
Lysakova M, Kitner M, Poulickova A (2007). The epipelic algae of fishponds of central and Northern Moravia (the Czech Republic). Fottea 7: 69-75.
Moghadam F (1976). Diatoms as indicator of pollution Zayandeh River, Iran. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 127: 281-297.
Nejadsattari T (2005). The diatom flora of lake Neure, Iran. Diatom Res 20: 313-333 .
Noga T, Kochman N, Peszek L, Stanek-Tarkowska J, Pajaczek A (2014). Diatoms (Bacillariophyceae) in rivers and streams and on cultivated soils of the Podkarpacie region in the years 2007- 2011. Journal of Ecological Engineering 15: 6-25.
Patrick RR, Reimer CW (1975). The Diatoms of the United States, Vol. 1. Philadelphia, PA, USA: Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia.
Rakowska B (2001). Studiumr & norodnoki okrzemek ecosystem ow wodnych Polski nii: wej. 1 - 76. Rozprawy habilitacyjne Uniwersytetu Lodzkiego. Warsaw, Poland: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Lodzkiego (in Polish).
Ramazannejad Ghadi R, Kianianmomeni A (2013). Attached and epipelic algae of the Miankaleh International Wetland (Northern Iran). Environmental Science 9: 61-72 (in Persian).
Richardson JL, Mody NS, Stacey ME (1996). Diatoms and water quality in Lancaster County (PA) streams: a 45-year perspective. Pennsylvania Academy of Science 70: 30-39.
Rothfritz H, Juttner I, Suren AM, Ormerod SJ (1997). Epiphytic and epilithic diatom communities along environmental gradients in the Nepalese Himalaya: implications for the assessment of biodiversity and water quality. Arch Hydrobiol 138: 465-482.
Rott E, Cantonati M, Fureder L, Pfister P (2006). Benthic algae in high altitude streams of the Alps-a neglected component of the aquatic biota. Hydrobiologia 562: 195-216.
Round FE (1993). A Review and Methods for the Use of Epilithic Diatoms for Detecting and Monitoring Changes in River Water Quality. London, UK: HMSO Publisher.
Sabater S, Armengol J, Marti E, Sabater F, Guasch H (1991). Benthic diatom communities as descriptors of discontinuities in the River Ter, Spain. In: Whitton BA, Rott E, Friedrich G, editors. Use of Algae for Monitoring Rivers. Innsbruck, Austria: Studia Studentenförderungs-GmbH, pp. 157-164.
Shams M, Afsharzadeh S (2009). Taxonomic study of diatoms in Zayandeh Rood Lake. Rostaniha 8:160-175 (in Persian).
Soltanpour-Gargari A, Lodenius M, Hinz F (2011). Epilithic diatoms (Bacillariophyceae) from streams in Ramsar, Iran. Acta Bot Croat 70: 167-190.
Spaulding SA, Lubinski DJ, Potapova M (2010). Diatoms of the United States. Boulder, CO, USA: University of Colorado. Available online at http://westerndiatoms.colorado.edu.
Suphan S, Peerapornpisal Y, Underwood GJC (2012). Benthic diatoms of Mekong river and its tributaries in northern and north-eastern Thailand and their application to water quality monitoring. Maejo Int J Sci Tech 6: 28-46.
Tanaka H (2007). Taxonomic studies of the genera Cyclotella (Kützing) Brébisson, Discostella Houk et Klee and Puncticulata Håkansson in the family Stephanodiscaceae Glezer et Makarova (Bacillariophyta) in Japan. Bibliotheca Diatomologica 53: 1-205.
Taylor JC, Harding WR, Archibald CGM (2007). A Methods Manual for the Collection, Preparation and Analysis of diatom samples. Ver. 1. Pretoria, South Africa: Water Research Commission.
Van Dam H, Mertens A, Sinkeldam J (1994). A coded checklist and ecological indicator values of freshwater diatoms from the Netherlands. Netherlands Journal of Aquatic Ecology 26: 117- 133.
Wasylik K (1975). Notes on the freshwater algae of Iran. Fragmenta Floristica et Geobotanica Ann 21: 369-396.
Winter JG, Duthie HC (2000). Epilithic diatoms as indicators of stream total N and total P concentrations. J N Am Benthol Soc 19: 32-49.
Zarei Darki B (2009). Algal flora of rivers in Iran. International Journal on Algae 11: 310-320.
Zarei Darki B (2011). Algae of the Aquatic Ecosystems of Iran. 1st ed. Isfahan, Iran: Payame Alavi Press (in Persian).