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A multimetric diatom index to assess the ecological status of coastal Galician rivers (NW Spain)

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Abstract

There are many rivers in northwest Spain as a consequence of the mountainous landscape and the granitic geology subjected to Atlantic influences. Water and epilithic diatoms samples were collected at 72 sites in Galicia flowing into the Atlantic Ocean and Cantabrian Sea in summer 2002–2003 and spring 2004. These sites included minimally disturbed sites, defined as reference sites, and impacted sites which were influenced by different human pressures. We used the diatom assemblages to calculate diatom indices using the Omnidia software, but we also developed new metrics based on the similarity of species composition in reference sites. The response of the metrics was tested in relation to physicochemical variables. We developed a diatom multimetric index (MDIAT) as a combination of metric values. The sensitivity of the MDIAT to organic and nutrient stressors supports the use of this index to classify the ecological status of Galician rivers. The MDIAT showed higher correlations with some variables and nutrients than the individual metrics. According to the MDIAT, 69% of the sites sampled in Galician coastal rivers achieve good ecological status. The MDIAT has been developed specifically for Galician granitic rivers (NW Spain), and has been intercalibrated at the European level in the Central Baltic Rivers GIG. Our study validates the application of this multimetric index to evaluate the water quality in coastal Galician rivers.

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Acknowledgements

This article complemented some of the results obtained by a project dealing with the application of the Water Framework Directive in Galician coastal area. The financial support for this study has been provided by Augas de Galicia (Xunta de Galicia, Spain), and this also included the support of the University of Vigo (Spain). We are grateful to the editor and the reviewers for their criticism and comments that improved the final manuscript. We thank M. Kelly for improving the language and content of the article, M.H. Novais for their commentaries, M. Dominguez for the help with the chemical analysis and L.M. González for the help with figures. We also thank C. Veiga, A. Nebra, M. Arndal and Sofia for their assistance with sample collection and for their friendship.

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  1. Department of Ecology and Animal Biology, University of Vigo, 36330, Vigo, Spain

    Cristina Delgado, Isabel Pardo & Liliana García

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  1. Cristina Delgado
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  2. Isabel Pardo
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Correspondence to Cristina Delgado.

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Delgado, C., Pardo, I. & García, L. A multimetric diatom index to assess the ecological status of coastal Galician rivers (NW Spain). Hydrobiologia 644, 371–384 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-010-0206-y

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