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A diatom dataset and diatom-salinity inference model for southeast Australian estuaries and coastal lakes

journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-19, 07:05 authored by Krystyna SaundersKrystyna Saunders
To quantify the relationship between diatom species assemblages and the water chemistry of southeast Australian estuaries and coastal lakes, a new dataset of 81 modern diatom samples and water chemistry data was created. Three hundred and ninety-nine species from 53 genera were identified in 36 samples from 32 coastal water bodies in eastern Tasmania and 45 samples from 13 coastal water bodies in southern Victoria. Multivariate statistical analyses revealed that the sampling sites were primarily distributed along salinity and nutrient gradients, and that salinity, nitrate + nitrite, phosphate and turbidity explained independent portions of variance in the diatom data. Species salinity optima and tolerances were determined and a diatom-salinity inference model (WAinv r2 = 0.72, r2jack = 0.58, RMSEP = 0.09 log ppt) was developed. This new information on diatom species’ salinity preferences provides a useful tool for quantitatively reconstructing salinity changes over time from diatom microfossils preserved in the sediments of a range of estuaries and coastal lakes in southeast Australia. This is valuable for studies investigating long-term human impacts and climate change in the region.

History

Publication title

Journal of Paleolimnology

Volume

64

Issue

4

Pagination

525-542

ISSN

0921-2728

Department/School

Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies

Publisher

Kluwer Academic Publ

Place of publication

Van Godewijckstraat 30, Dordrecht, Netherlands, 3311 Gz

Rights statement

Copyright 2010 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

Repository Status

  • Restricted

Socio-economic Objectives

Assessment and management of terrestrial ecosystems

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