Abstract
An overview of the diatom research in the DR Congo is given based on literature data starting in 1938 with the work of Zanon and excluding the East African Lakes as these were already discussed in previous papers. For each literature record the diatom genera mentioned are presented as well as all diatom taxa described from the Congo as new. In total, 106 new taxa were documented, of which Nitzschia with 40 taxa is far the most important genus followed by Navicula s.l. and Pinnularia and with 15 and 13 taxa respectively. Particular attention was paid to the local research of students found in unpublished theses at bachelor, licentiate, master and PhD level. Diatom records in these works are almost all restricted to genus level, although in the last decade an attempt to delimit species can be observed. This accompanies the renewed taxonomic interest in the Congo basin during the last decade. Renewed taxonomic interest can also be seen in the genera: the first period being situated during the lumping period, while more recent works follow the current taxonomic classification, for example Navicula s.l. versus Navicula, Cavinula, Craticula, Diadesmis, Geissleria, Humidophila, Luticola, etc.
Highlights
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo), research in the field of plant biology mostly concerned the study of terrestrial forest ecosystems (Anonymous 2012; Wasseige et al 2014), while the interest given to the aquatic environments was mainly limited to ichthyology and fisheries (e.g. Chapman 2001; Paugy et al 2011; Snoeks et al 2011), fish being an important source of protein for local populations
Publications on freshwater algae in tropical Africa focused on the great lakes of the Albertine rift: Malawi (Nyassa/Nyasa), Tanganyika (Tanganika) and Victoria (Victoria Nyanzae) (e.g. Müller 1904a, b, 1905, 1910; West 1907)
The present paper aims to give an overview of the research that has been conducted in the DR Congo or that has investigated Congolese material, found in international publications, and by means of local publications as well as unpublished theses at different levels
Summary
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo), research in the field of plant biology mostly concerned the study of terrestrial forest ecosystems (Anonymous 2012; Wasseige et al 2014), while the interest given to the aquatic environments was mainly limited to ichthyology and fisheries (e.g. Chapman 2001; Paugy et al 2011; Snoeks et al 2011), fish being an important source of protein for local populations. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo), research in the field of plant biology mostly concerned the study of terrestrial forest ecosystems (Anonymous 2012; Wasseige et al 2014), while the interest given to the aquatic environments was mainly limited to ichthyology and fisheries A few publications are available in the field of microscopic algae, and diatoms in particular, from inland aquatic environments in DR Congo. Publications on freshwater algae in tropical Africa focused on the great lakes of the Albertine rift: Malawi (Nyassa/Nyasa), Tanganyika (Tanganika) and Victoria (Victoria Nyanzae) (e.g. Müller 1904a, b, 1905, 1910; West 1907). A review of the studies that have been carried out on these large lakes and the lentic and lotic ecosystems of East Africa is given by Cocquyt (2006) and Taylor and Cocquyt (2015). The present paper aims to give an overview of the research that has been conducted in the DR Congo or that has investigated Congolese material, found in international publications, and by means of local publications as well as unpublished theses at different levels (bachelor, licentiate, master and PhD)
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