Seasonal and Spatial Variation of Epilithic Algal Community in Batlama Stream (Giresun, Turkey)

Abstract

Spatio-temporal changes in taxonomic composition and structure of epilithic algalcommunity with some physicochemical features of the Batlama stream were assessedbetween June 2013 and May 2014 at the intertidal zone of the Batlama Stream, Giresun,Turkey. A total of 90 taxa were identified belonging to division of Bacillariophyta (80taxa), Euglenophyta (3 taxa), Cyanobacteria (3 taxa) , Charophyta (2 taxa) and Chlorophyta(2 taxa) on epilitihic algae of Batlama Stream. Encyonema minutum, Ulnaria ulna,Cocconeis placentula, and Navicula cryptocephala species were the most abundant taxaamong all samples of the four stations throughout the study.The Shannon diversity index (H’) values varied in the range from 0.5 to 1.2 andcorrelated with both species richness and relative species abundance (evenness). Theresults of the diversity analysis and the counting did not exactly match up with eachother. Chlorophyll-a values of the stream and trophic classification (TDI, BDI) based onepilithic diatoms ascribed Batlama Stream to the mezotrophic range. Also, according tothe calculated pollution index (PTI, S) values, all stations of the Batlama Stream weremoderately polluted (β-mesosaprobity).