A floristic study of epilithic and epipelic diatoms in Chehelchay River of Minudasht

Chehel Chay River is one of the main tributaries of Gorganrud which is located in Minudasht area in Golestan province. Because of the necessity of the algal studies in different aquatic ecosystems of the country as part of biodiversity and their effectiveness on water quality, this study was done in order to study epilithic and epipelic diatoms of the river. Sampling was done from 5 stations. Samples were fixed with formalin 4%, and in order to observation under a microscope, were prepared using an acid cleaning. In total 32 species belong to 18 genera and 15 families were determined. Nitzschia with 5 sp. and Gomphonema with 4 sp. were the most abundant genera. Among species identified, 87/5 % occurred in both epilithic and epipelic samples. Most of the species identified are an indicator of eutrophic waters

Keywords:

Diatom , Morphologic form , Algae , Golestan