Diatom Ecology and Biogeography in Freshwater Systems

Diatoms are unicellular algae encased in intricately patterned silica shells, occupying planktonic, benthic and periphytic habitats in lakes, rivers, wetlands and peatlands. As primary producers they drive carbon fixation and nutrient cycling, while their sensitivity to temperature, pH, nutrient concentrations and hydrological connectivity makes them powerful indicators of environmental change. Dispersal by wind, waterbirds and hydrological pathways leads to both cosmopolitan distributions and regionally endemic assemblages, resulting in distinct biogeographical provinces shaped by climate gradients, catchment geology and anthropogenic impacts. In palaeoecological contexts, diatom assemblages preserved in sedimentary records document past shifts in acidity, salinity and productivity, offering insights into long-term responses to volcanic activity, orogeny and monsoon patterns. An integrated understanding of modern ecology and the stratigraphic record underpins applications ranging from water-quality assessment to reconstruction of Holocene hydrological stability and forecasting ecosystem resilience under future climate scenarios.

Research from Nature Portfolio

No recent Nature Portfolio content available.

Diatom Ecology and Biogeography in Freshwater Systems publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in diatom ecology and biogeography in freshwater systems across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Diatom: A single-celled alga with a silica cell wall, important in aquatic food webs and environmental monitoring.

Planktonic diatoms: Free-floating diatom species that inhabit the open water column of lakes and slow-flowing rivers.

Benthic diatoms: Diatom species that attach to or live on substrates such as sediments, rocks or aquatic vegetation.

Limno-terrestrial: Habitats at the interface of aquatic and terrestrial environments, including wet soils, moss mats and pond margins.

Palaeoenvironmental proxy: A biological, chemical or physical indicator preserved in sediments that records past environmental conditions.

Biogeography: The study of spatial patterns in species distributions and the processes that generate and maintain those patterns.

Hydrological connectivity: The degree to which water bodies exchange organisms, nutrients and sediments through surface or subsurface pathways.

References

1. Comparison of Diatom Paleo-Assemblages with Adjacent Limno-Terrestrial Communities on Vega Island, Antarctic Peninsula. Water (2020).
2. The turnover of continental planktonic diatoms near the middle/late Miocene boundary and their Cenozoic evolution. PLOS ONE (2018).
3. Diatoms from lentic and lotic systems in Antioquia, Chocó and Santander Departments in Colombia. Revista de Biología Tropical (2007).