EXAMINATION OF TWO DIMENSIONAL SPATIAL PATTERN OF PERIPHYTIC DIATOMS USING AN ADHESIVE SURFICIAL PEEL TECHNIQUE

A simple surficial peel technique using adhesive tape was developed for quantitative removal of haptobenthic diatom communities from topographically simple substrata. The method combines high removal efficiency with low peel distortion, permitting the use of spatial statistics to test whether populations are distributed in the peel randomly or form aggregated or uniform patterns. The microdistribution of Cocconeis placentula Ehr. on a smooth acrylic rod was examined. Using conventional nearest neighbor analyses, a clonal population of C. placentula , characterized by an indentation of the valve margin, was aggregated, whereas the overall C. placentula population was uniform or aggregated depending on whether the method of analysis allowed for cell size. Using refined nearest neighbor analysis, the indented population was aggregated, and the overall population was random at distances greater than cell size.