The influence of groundwater on diatom quantity within riffles of the Maple River.

Abstract

I have conducted research on the influence of water table depth below a streambed on the quantity of Bacillariophyceae present. Due to the characteristics of the diatoms, and their common habitat within the epipsammic substrate, the hypotheses of the research was that the closer the groundwater table is to the streambed, the greater the number of diatoms present. This was tested by taking five sand samples from three different riffles in the east branch of the Maple River, then conducting Palmer cell counts of the living diatoms. The mean number of diatoms for each site was compared between sites. Results show a negative correlation between the depth of the water table and the number of diatoms present.