EPILITHIC DIATOM-BASED ECOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT IN TAŞMANLI POND (SINOP, TURKEY)

The common goal of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) published by The European Parliament and European Council and the Regulation on the Management of Surface Water Quality Directive (RMSWQ) published by the Republic of Turkey, Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs, is to provide all water bodies to achieve a fine ecological status. These directives require the use of relevant biological quality elements and diatoms constitute an important group within these elements. The use of diatom based indices for assessing ecological conditions in inland water systems is increasing day by day. The current study was performed with the aim of determination of the ecological status of the Taşmanlı Pond based on epilithic diatoms, physico-chemical parameters and to estimate pond water quality using diatom indices. For this purpose, epilithic diatom and water samples were collected from 3 stations in the pond in monthly intervals from March 2008 to March 2009. The identifications of the sampled revealed presence of a total of 46 taxa in the sampled stations. Achnanthidium minutissimum (Kützing) Czarnecki, Nitzschia acicularis (Kützing) W. Smith, Navicula cincta (Ehrenberg) Ralfs in Pritchard and Navicula cryptocephala Kützing were the dominant taxa in all stations. According to Regulation on the Management of Surface Water Quality directive, the pond water was classified as III-IV quality class and trophic status changed from mesotrophic to eutrophic. Significant correlation was determined between LTDI (Lake Trophic Diatom Index) and EQR (Ecological Quality Ratio). The values of LTDI and EQR indicate that, pond water has class III (poor, moderately polluted site) water quality.