Effects of environmental parameters on diatoms community of the Euphrates River system

A study was designed to (1) establish the taxonomy of diatom species in the Euphrates River, and (2) determine the effect of the main environmental factors on diatom community distribution in the Euphrates River. From 14 sites along part of the Euphrates River, samples of diatoms and water were taken during 2016. Diatom samples were collected from the water by phytoplankton nets at a randomly selected site. A total of 96 diatom species were recorded during the study period. Using correlation factor analysis, patterns of diatom species distributions in connection to environmental variables were discovered. Temperature, total suspended solids, total alkalinity, and phosphate (PO4) were all significantly and strongly linked with diatom species in both habitats (r = 0.85, 0.88, 0.92, and 0.83, respectively). Fragilaria crotonensis Kitton 1869 had a higher total number recorded (881.64 cells/l×103) during the study period, and site 2 had a higher total number compared with other sites (4845 cells/l×103). November had a higher total number recorded compared with other months (13722.64 cells/l×103). As a result, we concluded that in lotic systems, environmental conditions can affect the existence and distribution of diatoms.