Species composition and diversity of periphytic diatoms along Umalag River, Philippines

Rivers are one of the providers of both economic and ecosystem services. However, it has been gradually degraded by general public. One of which is Umalag River, considered to be as one of the heavily stressed rivers due to different anthropogenic activities nearby. Consequently, not only locals are affected to these changes, but also the aquatic life as well. Hence, this study was conducted to assess the current water quality status of the river. It involved species composition, abundance and diversity of periphytic diatoms.

Two sites were established, Site A described as a rocky substrate while Site B is a combination of rocky and muddy substrate. Simpson’s Diversity Index was employed to attain the species diversity status in the two sites. Based on the results, fifteen (15) genera were found in two (2) sites, eleven (11) of which were identified in Site A, while eight (8) were found in Site B. Navicula sp., Gomphonema sp., and Nitzschia sp. dominated in Site A, while Pinnularia sp., followed by Navicula sp., and Nitzschia sp. were some of the species found in Site B.

  It was evident that both sites were dominated by Navicula sp., and Nitzschia sp. which are known to be pollution tolerant species. Site B obtained the highest diversity index of 0.823. The existence of periphtyic diatoms can be associated to the type of substrate, habitat preferences as well as to the varying environmental factors which may possibly poses an important implication to the water quality and biological integrity. Full Articles at-J. Bio. Env. Sci. 14(1), 121-130, January 2019.

Journal of Biodiversity and Environmental Sciences-JBES is an open-access scholarly research journal, published by International Network for Natural Sciences-INNSPUB. JBES published original scientific articles in different field of Environmental Sciences and Biodiversity. JBES published 2 Volume and 12 issue per calender year.