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Quantification of diatoms in biofilms: Standardisation of methods

DRS at CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography

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Title Quantification of diatoms in biofilms: Standardisation of methods
 
Creator Patil, J.S.
Anil, A.C.
 
Subject biofilms
substrata
benthic environment
colonization
biofouling
fouling organisms
standardization
technology
methodology
 
Description Benthic diatoms, which often dominate marine biofilms are mostly pennate along with a few centric species that have an attached mode of life. Even though the range of diatoms in biofilms is diverse, their ecology is poorly understood because of the difficulty in sampling and enumeration. Scraping or brushing are the traditional methods used for removal of diatoms from biofilms developed on solid substrata. The method of removal is the most critical step in enumerating the biofilm diatom community structure. In this study, a nylon brush and ceramic scraper were used as tools for the removal of diatoms from 1-4-day-old biofilms developed on fibreglass coupons and glass microscope slides. Standardisation of methods showed that the sample volume used in the analyses had the least influence on the quantification, whereas the method of removal was critical. The nylon brush was more efficient at recovering diatoms compared to a ceramic scraper. Direct microscopic enumeration of the community in the case of glass slides indicated that scraping resulted in between 30-50% underestimation. Heterogeneity in diatom community structure between replicate samples is one possible reason for such underestimation.
 
Date 2008-02-22T06:23:49Z
2008-02-22T06:23:49Z
2005
 
Type Journal Article
 
Identifier Biofouling, Vol.21; 181-188p.
http://drs.nio.org/drs/handle/2264/1008
 
Language en
 
Rights Copyright [2005]. It is tried to respect the rights of the copyright holders to the best of the knowledge. If it is brought to our notice by copyright holder that the rights are voilated then the item would be withdrawn.
 
Publisher Taylor and Francis