Abstract
In 2009, seventeen analysts participated in a pan-European diatom ring-test (intercalibration), analyzing nine samples from seven countries following the European standard EN 14407. The objective of this exercise was to agree on practical conventions on diatom identification to facilitate future intercalibration work and to assess the extent to which national differences in sample analysis (counting protocol and identification conventions) contribute to variability in EU-level comparisons of diatom-based methods. Differences in the reported taxa lists were large, but not a major source of variation in values of a common metric (the phytobenthos Intercalibration Common Metric, ICM). Therefore, every country can apply its own identification conventions for national assessments, and still be fairly confident that the ICM reflects the national classification of its streams. Part of the index variation was due to differences in counting protocols and care should be taken when handling broken valves, girdle views and small taxa. More work at both national and European level is needed to provide a harmonized way of using diatoms for ecological status assessments in the future.
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Acknowledgments
We thank the national authorities that funded part of this study: Catalan Water Agency, Fonds National de la Recherche (FNR Luxembourg), Portuguese Water Institute, Scottish and Northern Irish Forum for Environmental Research, Swedish Environmental Protection Agency. We also thank Bart Van de Vijver for constructive discussions and R. Jan Stevenson and two anonymous referees for constructive criticism on the manuscript.
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Guest editors: L. Ector, D. Hlúbiková & L. Hoffmann/Proceedings of the 7th International Symposium “Use of Algae for Monitoring Rivers”, Luxembourg, November 23–25, 2009
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Kahlert, M., Kelly, M., Albert, RL. et al. Identification versus counting protocols as sources of uncertainty in diatom-based ecological status assessments. Hydrobiologia 695, 109–124 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-012-1115-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-012-1115-z