Perifiton Epilitik sebagai Bioindikator Kualitas Air Sungai Senggarang di Pulau Bintan, Kepulauan Riau

Abstract

The Senggarang River is a tributary located in Senggarang, Bintan Island, Riau Islands Province. The river's water quality needs to be monitored considering that it is one of the water resources used by the Senggarang community in Tanjung Pinang City and its surroundings. This study aims to determine the water quality of the Senggarang River based on the structure of the epilithic periphyton community. The sampling location was determined based on the purposive sampling method. Samples were taken from six stations along the Senggarang River, namely Station 1 in the first upstream, Station 2 adjacent to residential areas, Station 3 in the second upstream, Station 4 at the confluence of the two streams, Station 5 in open land, and Station 6 downstream near the estuary. Epilithic periphyton obtained from this study consisted of 20 genera from 3 divisions, namely Bacillariophyta, Chlorophyta, and Charophyta. The highest periphyton density was 790 individuals/cm2 found at Station 1 (upstream), while the lowest was 638 individuals/cm2 in the part of the river that flows in open land (Station 5). Based on the periphyton community, the results of the ecological index assessment indicated low diversity, high uniformity, and no dominant individual. The saprobic index value indicated that the pollution of organic and inorganic materials in the Senggarang River is classified as very low or oligosaprobic.