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Using diatom life-forms and ecological guilds to assess organic pollution and trophic level in rivers: a case study of rivers in south-eastern France

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Abstract

The European Union’s Water Framework Directive has set a target of achieving good ecological status for all aquatic environments in Europe by 2015. In order to determine the quality of aquatic environments, biological indicators such as diatoms are often used. However, biotic diatom indices can be difficult and time consuming to use because of complexity of species determination. We investigated whether the biological traits of diatoms in rivers (life-forms, size classes and ecological guilds) could be used to assess organic pollution and trophic level. We worked on a data set comprising 315 diatom species, determined at 328 river stations of south-east France and a variety of parameters. The abundances of some biological traits differed significantly between the different organic pollution and trophic levels, particularly stalked diatoms, and the motile and low-profile guilds.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the Rhone-Mediterranean & Corsica Water Agency and the Rhône-Alpes, Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur and Languedoc Roussillon DREAL (Regional Environmental Agencies) for generously providing the data. The RECORD network (Cooperative Research Network on Waste and the Environment) and the ONEMA (French National Agency for Water and Aquatic Environments) are thanked for their financial support.

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  1. INRA, UMR CARRTEL, 75 av. de Corzent, BP 511, 74203, Thonon-les-Bains Cedex, France

    Vincent Berthon, Agnès Bouchez & Frédéric Rimet

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  1. Vincent Berthon
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  2. Agnès Bouchez
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  3. Frédéric Rimet
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Correspondence to Frédéric Rimet.

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Berthon, V., Bouchez, A. & Rimet, F. Using diatom life-forms and ecological guilds to assess organic pollution and trophic level in rivers: a case study of rivers in south-eastern France. Hydrobiologia 673, 259–271 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-011-0786-1

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