Ecological status assessment using periphytic diatom communites - case study Krka River

Authors

  • Petar Žutinić University of Zagreb, Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, Rooseveltov trg 6, HR-10000 Zagreb, Croatia
  • Antonija Kulaš University of Zagreb, Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, Rooseveltov trg 6, HR-10000 Zagreb, Croatia
  • Zlatko Levkov Institute of Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University, Arhimedova 3, 1000 Skopje, R. North Macedonia
  • Mirela Šušnjara Hrvatske vode, Central Water Management Laboratory, Vukovarska 220, HR-1000, Zagreb, Croatia
  • Sandi Orlić Ruđer Bošković Institute, Bijenička cesta 54, HR-10000 Zagreb, Croatia
  • Stefani Kukić Croatian Sugar Industry J.S.C., Ulica Matije Gupca 254, HR-33000, Virovitica, Croatia
  • Gordana Goreta Public Institution „National Park Krka”, Trg Ivana Pavla II br. 5, HR-22000 Šibenik, Croatia
  • Marija Gligora Udovič University of Zagreb, Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, Rooseveltov trg 6, HR-10000 Zagreb, Croatia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.59194/MJEE20221029zh

Keywords:

diatoms, periphyton, ecological status, Krka River, trophic index

Abstract

In the light of ever-growing issue of climate changes, a special focus has been directed towards freshwater periphytic algal communities. Diatoms, a commonly dominant group of protists in periphytic assemblages, are frequently used for ecological water-quality assessments of rivers. Diatom-based indices for ecological status assessment are based on a weighted-averaging model using relative abundances and the environmental optima of taxa. The aim of this study was to assess the ecological status of the Krka River based on taxonomic analyses of its periphytic communities. Sampling of periphytic and environmental variables was carried out in September 2017 and September 2018 on nine stations along the Krka River course, with 3 microhabitats at each station. Taxonomic analysis of samples in 2017 revealed a total of 120 diatom species, whilst in 2018 a total of 226 diatom species was noted. Ecological status of the Krka River, evaluated using TDIHR (Croatian Trophic Diatom Index) and the corresponding ecological quality ratio (EQR), was classified as high in most of the watercourse of the Krka River.

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Published

2020-08-31

How to Cite

Žutinić, P., Kulaš, A., Levkov, Z., Šušnjara, M., Orlić, S., Kukić, S., Goreta, G., & Gligora Udovič, M. (2020). Ecological status assessment using periphytic diatom communites - case study Krka River. Macedonian Journal of Ecology and Environment, 22(1), 29–44. https://doi.org/10.59194/MJEE20221029zh

Issue

Vol. 22 No. 1 (2020): Macedonian Journal of Ecology and Environment

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2020 Petar Žutinić, Antonija Kulaš, Zlatko Levkov, Mirela Šušnjara, Sandi Orlić, Stefani Kukić, Gordana Goreta, Marija Gligora Udovič

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Creative Commons License
Macedonian Journal of Ecology and Environment is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.