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Use of Diatom Communities as Indicators of Conductivity and Ionic Composition in a Small Austral Temperate River System

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine if benthic diatoms can be used as effective and reliable indicators of ionic composition and conductivity in different stream order categories. Samples were collected on two occasions from 22 sampling sites within the Bloukrans River system, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. The data collected were subjected to multivariate statistical technique, i.e. CCA, to determine environmental gradients along which the diatom species were distributed as well as to elucidate hypothesised differences in community structure per stream order. Significant differences between the two sampling periods were observed in dissolved oxygen, temperature, Na, B, Ca, Zn, Cu, Cr, K, Fe, phosphate, conductivity, salinity and nitrate, while significant stream order variation was observed for conductivity, salinity, Mg, Ca and sediment nitrates. Study sites were grouped into two broad categories (stream order 1 and 2/3 sites) based on CCA. As pollution increased, low to moderate pollution-tolerant species such as Fragilaria tenera, Cyclostephanos dubius and Gyrosigma acuminatum were replaced by high pollution-tolerant species such as Nitzschia palea, Gomphonema parvulum, Tryblionella apiculata, Diploneis vulgaris and Staurosira elliptica. This shows that diatom assemblages are appropriate indicators of ionic composition/conductivity and hydromorphological characteristics (e.g. stream size) of running waters. The results highlight the importance of creating regional calibration datasets which will make it possible to develop procedures to determine conductivity and ion concentration effects on biota.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Mandla Magoro and Samuel Motitsoe for assistance with field work.

Funding

Financial support for this study was granted by the Claude Leon Postdoctoral Research Fellowship and Rhodes University to TD and the National Research Foundation of South Africa to RJW. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors, and the Claude Leon Foundation and NRF does not accept any liability in this regard.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, P O Box 94, Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa

    Tinotenda Mangadze & Tatenda Dalu

  2. School of Science, Monash University Malaysia, Jalan Lagoon Selatan, 47500, Bandar Sunway, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia

    Ryan J. Wasserman

  3. South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity, P Bag 1015, Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa

    Ryan J. Wasserman & Tatenda Dalu

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  1. Tinotenda Mangadze
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  2. Ryan J. Wasserman
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Correspondence to Tatenda Dalu.

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Table S1

The distribution of most frequently occurring diatoms. Abbreviations: * < 1%, ** > 1 to 4.9%, *** > 5 to 9.9% and **** > 10% (PDF 210 kb).

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Mangadze, T., Wasserman, R.J. & Dalu, T. Use of Diatom Communities as Indicators of Conductivity and Ionic Composition in a Small Austral Temperate River System. Water Air Soil Pollut 228, 428 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-017-3610-3

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