Journal article
The Potential and Limitations of Diatoms as Environmental Indicators in Mid-Atlantic Coastal Wetlands
Estuaries and coasts, v 42(6), pp 1440-1458
01 Sep 2019
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
Diatoms have been successfully used as indicators of past and present environmental conditions in freshwater and marine habitats, but their diversity and indicative properties in microtidal coastal wetlands of temperate zone are relatively poorly studied. The goal of this study was to determine whether diatoms can be used as indicators of sea level and nutrient content in coastal wetlands of the mid-Atlantic region of the USA. Our exploratory analyses indicated that benthic and marsh soil diatom assemblages were jointly controlled by tidal elevation, salinity, sediment texture, and nutrient content, while the relative importance of these factors varied among datasets targeting different environmental gradients. The habitat type could be correctly inferred from diatom assemblage composition in 79% of samples. A diatom-based model developed for inferring sediment nitrogen content had an average accuracy of prediction of 12.5% of observed nitrogen range. Models for inferring tidal exposure from diatom assemblage data provided assessment with 11-16% accuracy as estimated by the bootstrapped root mean square errors of prediction, which is similar to the accuracy of models based on other microfossils. These results show that despite inherent challenges, such as tidal redistribution of diatom frustules across the intertidal zone, diatoms can be successfully used as an independent source of evidence in paleoreconstructions of sea-level change and nitrogen enrichment, as well as for monitoring current nutrient pollution in mid-Atlantic wetlands.
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Details
- Title
- The Potential and Limitations of Diatoms as Environmental Indicators in Mid-Atlantic Coastal Wetlands
- Creators
- Nina Desianti - Drexel UniversityMihaela D. Enache - New Jersey Department of Environmental ProtectionMichael Griffiths - William Paterson UniversityKsawery Biskup - William Paterson UniversityAustin Degen - William Paterson UniversityMichael DaSilva - William Paterson UniversityDaniel Millemann - New Jersey Department of Environmental ProtectionLee Lippincott - New Jersey Department of Environmental ProtectionElizabeth Watson - Drexel UniversityAndrew Gray - University of California, RiversideDaria Nikitina - West Chester UniversityMarina Potapova - Drexel University
- Publication Details
- Estuaries and coasts, v 42(6), pp 1440-1458
- Publisher
- Springer Nature
- Number of pages
- 19
- Grant note
- CA-R-ENS-5120-H / USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture Hatch program Landsberger Foundation
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Biodiversity, Earth, and Environmental Science (BEES)
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:000478058300004
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-85068874833
- Other Identifier
- 991019168688504721
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Environmental Sciences
- Marine & Freshwater Biology