An Ecological study on phytoplankton diatoms in the Tigris River within Tikrit City, Iraq

Abstract

An ecological study was conducted on phytoplankton diatoms in the Tigris River of Al-Balaj area in Tikrit city, from October 2018 to May 2019. The present study included measuring some physical and chemical characteristics of the water, as well as qualitative study of diatoms as following: Air and water temperature ranged from 10 to 34°C and 10 to 25°C respectively, Turbidity (10-50) NTU, TDS ranged from 824 to 1600 mg. L^-1, pH ranged 6.3-8.5, DO ranged between 1.5-3.2 mg. L^-1, Hardness ranged 124 to 270 mg. L^-1, Silica ranged between 1.47-2.53 mg. L^-1, phosphate 23.19-24.83 μg. L^-1, and NO₃ ranged from 5.61 to 11.42 μg. L^-1. Diagnosed of diatom was 51 species belonging to 18 genera were recorded. The dominant genera during the study period were: ، Cyclotella ,Melosira ,Achnathes , Cocconeis , Synedra , Fragilaria ,Navicula ,Gyrosigma ,Surirella ,Cymatopleura ,Amphora ,Gomphonema ,Cymbella Aulacoseira ,Cosinodiscus. It reflects the water's quality and determines the extent and type of pollution.