Diatom analysis of Edku Lake sediments to assess the Late Holocene environmental changes in northern Egypt | ||
| Delta Journal of Science | ||
| Article 10, Volume 38, Issue 2, December 2017, Pages 234-247 PDF (2.44 M) | ||
| Document Type: Research and Reference | ||
| DOI: 10.21608/djs.2017.139463 | ||
| Authors | ||
| Abdelfattah A. Zalat; Hamza M. Khalil; Ali S. Ali; Seham A. El Nagar | ||
| Geology Department, Faculty of Science, Tanta University, 31527 Tanta, Egypt | ||
| Abstract | ||
| Quantitative and qualitative diatom analyses from the Edku Lake core sediments were used to assess the environmental history of the lake during the Late Holocene. A total of 128 diatom species and varieties were identified from 118 samples representing of four short cores obtained from the lake. The topmost samples represent the recent time are dominant by diatom taxa than that recorded in the lowered cores samples. Detailed diatom investigation indicated a considerable variation in the composition and distribution of the diatom taxa among the studied cores. The non-planktonic epiphytic taxa Cocconeis placentula, Epithemia sorex, Epithemia adnata and the benthic forms Navicula aegyptiaca, Campylodiscus biocostatus and Campylodiscus clypeus were the most dominant species in the core sediments, which mainly reflect slightly brackish, alkaline, eutrophic shallow lake condition during the time of deposition. Multivariate statistical analysis included hierarchical ascending clustering and Detrended correspondence analyses were used to identify ecological groups of diatoms. The results distinguished six ecological groups that reflect changes in the water quality, water salinity, lake-level, pH and eutrophication of the lake, which in turn may related to climatic changes and anthropogenic impacts. | ||
| Keywords | ||
| diatom analysis; Edku Lake; core sediments; Late Holocene; environmental changes | ||
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