RESUMO
OBJECTIVES: To study the annual variation of diatoms in Zhangweixin River, to provide theoretical support by using diatom examination to estimate the time and place of the corpse entering water, and to establish a diatom database. METHODS: Samples were taken from 4 sampling sites in Decheng section of Zhangweixin River for 12 consecutive months. Non-metric multi-dimensional scaling (NMDS) analysis was performed on the species and content of diatom samples. Based on the sampling site of Tianqu Road, Sprensen similarity coefficient analysis was conducted with the data of other 3 sites in Decheng section and Leling section of Zhangweixin River and Ningjin section in previous studies. RESULTS: The number of diatom species was positively correlated with diatom content. The average diatom content in different months ranged from 1 054 to 13 041/10 mL, and the species composition ranged from 8 to 16, with differences in dominant species. The similarity coefficient of diatom species within 2 km were all higher than 0.956 52, which could not be distinguished effectively. The similarity coefficients of Leling section and Ningjin section were 0.736 84 and 0.588 24 respectively, which could be effectively distinguished. CONCLUSIONS: The species and content of diatom vary in different months in Zhangweixin River, and the composition of diatom species is different in different basins, which can provide reference for estimating the time and place of the corpse entering water in the river.