Ecological assessment of Great Lota Lake (Turkey) on the base of diatom communities

The diatoms are very important component for aquatic ecosystems. Turkey has a rich lake potential and many of the lakes have high level of endemism. For this reason, the Great Lota Lake was investigated between October 2000 and October 2001 in sampling periods of approximately per 15 days from one station. Totally, 104 diatom taxa were identified and used for ecological analysis by statistic methods. Chronological analysis, indication in respect to temperature, habitat preferences, streaming and oxygenation, organic pollution by Pantle-Buck and Watanabe’s saprobity system, N-uptake metabolism, and trophic states were evaluated, and the aquatic ecosystem state index (WESI) was calculated. As a result, the diatoms in the lake preferred temperate, low saline and alkaline water. The saprobity is oligo- and betamesosaprobic when, the trophic state is eutrophic condition according to Van Dam’s system. Keywords : Bio-indication, CCA, diatoms, Great Lota Lake, monitoring, organic pollution, Turkey African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(5), pp. 453-464