<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>The present study is a preliminary taxonomic survey of diatom assemblages from one of the highest mountain ranges in the Western Himalayas – Ladakh. 37 samples were collected from 19 different sampling sites at altitudes ranging from 3100–4552 amsl. The diatom communities were representative of habitats such as lakes, streams, and hot springs from high altitudes. The dominant diatoms are studied using light microscopy and identified using valve morphometrics. The study enlists a total of 74 taxa belonging to 40 genera along with photomicrographic plates. Commonly-found species of high-altitude hot springs habitats were <italic>Gogorevia exilis</italic> and <italic>Denticula thermaloides</italic>. <italic>Reimeria sinuata, Fragilaria vaucheriae, Gomphonella</italic> cf. <italic>olivacea, Encyonema ventricosum, Lindavia biswashanti, Diatoma moniliformis</italic>, and <italic>Denticula valida</italic> were commonly occurring species in stream, river and lake habitats. Further analysis and putative novel species from this high-altitude environment will be described in future publications.</p>
</abstract>

The present study is a preliminary taxonomic survey of diatom assemblages from one of the highest mountain ranges in the Western Himalayas – Ladakh. 37 samples were collected from 19 different sampling sites at altitudes ranging from 3100–4552 amsl. The diatom communities were representative of habitats such as lakes, streams, and hot springs from high altitudes. The dominant diatoms are studied using light microscopy and identified using valve morphometrics. The study enlists a total of 74 taxa belonging to 40 genera along with photomicrographic plates. Commonly-found species of high-altitude hot springs habitats were Gogorevia exilis and Denticula thermaloides. Reimeria sinuata, Fragilaria vaucheriae, Gomphonella cf. olivacea, Encyonema ventricosum, Lindavia biswashanti, Diatoma moniliformis, and Denticula valida were commonly occurring species in stream, river and lake habitats. Further analysis and putative novel species from this high-altitude environment will be described in future publications.

Diatoms (Bacillariophyta) of the world’s highest aquatic environments from the Western Himalayas, India

Oceanological and Hydrobiological Studies

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The present study is a preliminary taxonomic survey of diatom assemblages from one of the highest mountain ranges in the Western Himalayas – Ladakh. 37 samples...

Diatoms (Bacillariophyta) of the world’s highest aquatic environments from the Western Himalayas, India

Article Category: Original research paper

Published Online: Jun 28, 2023

Page range: 172 - 205

Received: Sep 23, 2022

Accepted: Mar 24, 2023

DOI: https://doi.org/10.26881/oahs-2023.2.04

© 2023 Samadhan Pardhi et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.