A study of low-temperature and mountain epilithic diatom community in mountain stream at the Han River system, Korea

Abstract

BackgroundThis study was conducted to assess the physicochemical water quality and the altitudinal distribution of low-temperature and mountain epilithic diatom (LTMD) community in Buk and Hangae streams that are located in Seorak Mountain with the height of 1708 m in Korea. And the community characteristics of LTMD found in the Buk and Hangae streams were compared to that of LTMD from the Han River system.ResultsThe physicochemical water qualities of Buk and Hangae streams were determined to be very clean. As a result of analyzing the community composition, 135 taxa of epilithic diatoms were determined, and 22 taxa appeared including Hannaea arcus var. subarcus which are known to have low-temperature and mountain ecological characteristics in the literatures. The relative frequencies of LTMD were 37.0~0.9% range from the upper to lower regions. Although Diatoma tenuis, Eunotia minor, and Gomphonema affine are known to be ubiquitous in streams and lakes, in this research, the three taxa were added into low-temperature and mountain epilithic diatom, since D. tenuis and E. minor appeared only in altitudes above 600 m, and G. affine had the highest relative frequency during spring and fall in altitudes above 700 m, when water temperature was around 10 °C.ConclusionsAmong the 24 taxa of low-temperature and mountain epilithic diatom (LTMD) (including the 3 taxa added in this study), 14 taxa (Diatoma hyemalis, D. mesodon, D. tenuis, Hannaea arcus, H. arcus var. subarcus, Ulnaria inaequalis, Eunotia bilunaris, E. implicata, E. minor, E. muscicola, E. silvahercynia, E. septena, Delicata delicatula, and Gomphonema affine) represented the characteristics of LTMD very well; they grow best in water temperatures below 15 °C in Buk and Hangae streams and Han River system.