Northwest Diatoms, Volume 4: Stauroneis in the Northern Rockies

Bahls, Loren

Volume 4 of Northwest Diatoms addresses 50 species of Stauroneis sensu stricto from the Northern Rocky Mountains of western Montana, northern Idaho, northeastern Washington, and southwestern Alberta. Provided for each species are detailed descriptions, multiple images (often size diminution series within a single population), similar species, and information on geographic distribution and autecology. Sixteen of the 50 species are described as new. Most of the new species are separated from a few catch-all species complexes that until now have been identified collectively as Stauroneis phoenicenteron, Stauroneis anceps, Stauroneis javanica, and Stauroneis gracilior. This monograph builds on the recent work of Horst Lange-Bertalot, Bart Van de Vijver, and many others, and is based on samples and slides deposited in the Montana Diatom Collection of Northwest Diatoms. For this study I examined 663 samples collected for various projects over the past 30 years from lentic ecosystems—lakes, ponds, and wetlands—mainly in forested regions of the Northern Rockies at or below timberline. These prime habitats for Stauroneis have circumneutral pH and very low to moderate levels of dissolved solids, reflecting the naturally solute-poor and nutrient-poor geology of the region.

Northwest Diatoms, Volume 4: Stauroneis in the Northern Rockies

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