Diatoms in Temporary Rivers: Importance in a Global Climate Change Context

Abstract

In this chapter, we describe the biological aspects of diatoms in temporary rivers, focusing on their ecology and adaptation mechanisms to the harsh environment in these aquatic ecosystems. Predicted alterations in temporary rivers, according to the climate change scenarios, will most probably affect diatom composition and community structure. Given the importance of diatoms in these ecosystems, changes in diatom taxonomical and functional diversity, physiology, or biomass will be reflected in the whole ecosystem. The adaptation mechanisms to the stressors in temporary rivers can contribute to providing diatoms with an adaptive advantage under the predicted climate change extreme events. Furthermore, the use of diatoms as bioindicators, including the dry phase, contributes to the conservation and management of temporary rivers. However, further studies on diatoms in temporary rivers should be carried out, since their ecology is still poorly known due to the lack of exhaustive and thorough studies on their taxonomy, highlighted by the number of new species recently described from a few sampling sites in Southern Portugal