Rio Mameyes diatoms in the Rio Mameyes from 1998 to 2001

Survey expeditions of the diatoms of Puerto Rico and other Caribbean islands were conducted briefly in the late 1800's and early 1900's,. However, until now no intensive study of changes in freshwater diatom community over time has been undertaken. In conjunction with other measures of quality of water in the Rio Mameyes, i.e. pH, conductivity, temperature, nutrients, periphytic diatoms have been collected monthly for two years in an effort to detect the effects of disturbances such as hurricanes and human demands on a river ecosystem.

19世纪末至20世纪初，学界曾对波多黎各及其他加勒比海岛屿的硅藻（diatoms）开展过短期调查科考。然而截至目前，尚未有研究针对淡水硅藻群落在时间尺度上的群落动态变化展开系统性深入探究。为配合马梅西河（Rio Mameyes）的水质监测工作（涵盖pH值、电导率、水温及营养盐含量等指标），本数据集开展了为期两年的月度采样，采集对象为附生硅藻（periphytic diatoms），旨在探明飓风、人类活动需求等扰动因素对河流生态系统的影响。