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Benthic diatom assemblages and their response to human stress in small-sized volcanic-siliceous streams of central Italy (Mediterranean eco-region)

TitleBenthic diatom assemblages and their response to human stress in small-sized volcanic-siliceous streams of central Italy (Mediterranean eco-region)
Publication TypeArticolo su Rivista peer-reviewed
Year of Publication2012
AuthorsV. Bella, della, Pace Giandomenico, Barile M., Zedde A., Puccinelli C., Ciadamidaro S., Danieli P.P., Andreani P., Aulicino F.A., Belfiore C., and Mancini L.
JournalHydrobiologia
Volume695
Pagination207-222
ISSN00188158
Keywordsalga, Algae, Amphora ovalis pediculus, anthropogenic effect, Bacillariophyceae, Bacillariophyta, benthos, bioindicator, Cocconeis placentula, community structure, data set, diatom, ecoregion, human activity, hydrobiology, Italy, Mediterranean environment, Pediculus, Planothidium lanceolatum, Rhoicosphenia abbreviata, siliceous deposit, species diversity, streamwater, typology, volcano, water planning
Abstract

The river typology 'volcanic rivers' represents a unique typology in the Mediterranean eco-region in Europe but its type-specific diatom assemblages are still poorly investigated. The main aims of this study were (i) to analyse the diatom diversity of this river type, (ii) to investigate the relationships between diatom diversity and environmental variables and (iii) to identify the characterizing diatom community structure of different environmental groups. To this end, we selected 13 streams located in central Italy, belonging to a single river type and covering the whole quality range from human impacted sites to those in 'reference conditions'. Most frequent and abundant diatom species found were Cocconeis placentula var. lineata, Planothidium lanceolatum, Rhoicosphenia abbreviata and Amphora pediculus. Species richness in reference and less impacted sites was not higher than in intermediate and heavily degraded ones, but non-metric multidimensional scaling (N-MDS) analysis revealed a substantial difference among their diatom community structure. The indicator species analysis defined the characteristic species of three environmental groups identified by N-MDS. The findings of this study represent a contribution to the knowledge on diatom communities of Mediterranean volcanic-siliceous rivers and provide information for a data-driven implementation of the Water Framework Directive in Italy for this specific river typology. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

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URLhttps://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84865402791&doi=10.1007%2fs10750-012-1195-9&partnerID=40&md5=cfc468a9f78a7841363880469b9fff1e
DOI10.1007/s10750-012-1195-9
Citation KeydellaBella2012207