General

Diatoms are distributed around Australia in marine, freshwater, saline and soil environments in abundance. They are a species rich group of algae being present in numbers in the order of tens of thousands. Diatom taxonomy has progressed within the last 10years and has increased the understanding of the systematics and ecology of these organisms. As such they are now useful indicators of river health and widely used in bio-monitoring projects. Accurate identification of taxa with information on geographical distribution is essential for the use of diatoms as reliable indicators (John, 2000).

Protocol

Setting water quality targets
http://www.deh.gov.au/water/quality/targets/handbook/pubs/handbook.pdf

Monitoring toolbox
http://www.deh.gov.au/water/rivers/nrhp/monitoring.html

Indicators
http://www.deh.gov.au/nrm/monitoring/indicators/river/index.html

Diatoms monitoring
http://www.adelaide.edu.au/diatoma/stm.html
http://au.riversinfo.org/library/nrhp/diatoms_indicators/

National Water Quality Strategy (monitoring and reporting protocols)
http://www.deh.gov.au/water/quality/nwqms/

AusRivAS Diatom Bioassessment
http://ausrivas.canberra.edu.au

RHP Diatom Bioassessment (John 2000)
http://www.ea.gov.au/water/rivers/nrhp/monitoring.html
http://au.riversinfo.org/library/nrhp/

John, J. (2000) A guide to diatoms as indicators of urban stream health. National River Health Program. Urban Sub Program, Report No.7, Land and Water Resources Research and Development Cooperation LWRRDC Occasional Paper 14/99.

Costs

Diatoms per site.

• Collection materials - $10
• Taxonomic identification (Species)- $200
• Quality Assurance and Control- $300
• Quality Assurance and Control- $50 (every 4 months)

Case Studies

Diatoma
http://www.adelaide.edu.au/diatoma/projects.html

The Australia and Pacific Science Foundation
http://www.apscience.org.au/projects/APSF_03_1/apsf_03_1.htm

Hornsby Shire Council
http://www.hornsby.nsw.gov.au/environment/index.cfm?NavigationID=1040

Education
http://www.watercare.net/wll_cc/cw_inland_water_copy1.htm

People Contacts

http://www.asl.org.au/asl_volunteers.htm

Organisation Contacts

Department of the Environment and Heritage
John Gorton Building
King Edward Terrace
Parkes ACT 2600
GPO Box 787
Canberra ACT 2601
Phone: +61 2 6274 1111
Fax: +61 2 6274 1666
Email: Comments, Queries and Suggestions
URL: http://www.deh.gov.au

NSW Department of Environment and Conservation
59-61 Goulburn Street, Sydney
PO Box A290, Sydney South 1232
Phone: (02) 9995 5000 (switch)
Fax: (02) 9995 5999