USING THE QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE OF EPIPELIC ALGAE AS BIOINDICATORS TO DETERMINATE THE WATER QUALITY OF ALHABBANIYAH LAKE, WESTERN IRAQ

Abstract

ABSTRACT : The current study was conducted in Al-Habbaniyah Lake within the Anbar Governorate, western Iraq for the period from August 2020 to March 2021 for five sites within the waters of the lake. The study included measuring some physical and chemical parameters in the waters of Lake Habbaniyah. The study targeted the community of epipelic algae at the qualitative and quantitative level to use them in determining the quality of the lake water through a set of mathematical indices included in Biological Indices, as well as onducting a Water Quality Index to compare it with the results of physical and chemical parameters and biological indices. All 251 species have been identified belonging to 84 genera of the epipelic algae community, and the different species were distributed in seven classes and their appearance was in varying proportions, as the predominance of the Bacillariophyceae was 44.6%. The physical and chemical parameters agreed with the results of the biological indices and the water quality index to estimate the water quality of Lake Habbaniyah, where it was described as having medium biodiversity according to the Shannon diversity index, where its average values ranged between 2.821-2.012 and the lake water was also described as moderate pollution according to the pollution tolerance index, where its averages ranged between 2.421 - 2.246 and according to Palmer’s pollution index, the lake water was described as having medium organic pollution, where its averages ranged between 12.3 - 18.0. The results of the Trophic diatomic index showed that the lake water is of misotrophic , with average values ranging between 67.68 - 35.71. According to the NSF - Water quality index, the lake water was described as of medium quality, with its averages ranging between 57.57-53.32.