Environmental determinants of diatom assemblages along a North African wadi, the Kebir-East, North-East Algeria

Submitted: 3 December 2011
Accepted: 3 December 2011
Published: 1 February 2011
Abstract Views: 1618
PDF: 1302
Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Authors

A total of 322 benthic diatoms with the majority being cosmopolitan species was recorded during a survey of the catchment area of the Kebir-East wadi, northeast Algeria. The spatial distribution patterns of diatom communities in relation to environmental gradients were examined using Co-Inertia Analysis (CIA) for ascertaining the interdependence between physico-chemical descriptors and diatom assemblages in 182 samples, collected over a period of 3 years, across 23 sampling stations. There was a significant covariance between the environmental data set and the benthic diatom data set with the CIA highlighting correlations between environmental factors and diatom species. A clear longitudinal gradient was a main driver of diatom communities with upstream sites characterized by high dissolved oxygen concentrations and downstream sites characterized by high organic load and nutrient enrichment of the water. A further factor influencing the shape of diatom assemblages was related to the conductivity, and the high values possibly reflected the close proximity of the sea to the downstream sites. An anthropogenic impact was also most evident in structuring diatom assemblages at sites close to Lake Oubeïra where agriculture was concentrated.

Dimensions

Altmetric

PlumX Metrics

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Citations

How to Cite

CHAÏB, Nadjla, Ahmed H. ALFARHAN, Khaled A.S. AL-RASHEID, and Boudjéma SAMRAOUI. 2011. “Environmental Determinants of Diatom Assemblages Along a North African Wadi, the Kebir-East, North-East Algeria”. Journal of Limnology 70 (1):33-40. https://doi.org/10.4081/jlimnol.2011.33.

Similar Articles

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 > >> 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.

List of Cited By :

Crossref logo