Diatoms of North AmericaNAWQA & ANSP
The NAWQA program was designed to collect and interpret data on surface- and ground-water chemistry, hydrology, land use, stream habitat, and aquatic life in parts or all of nearly all 50 states using a consistent study design and uniform methods of sampling analysis. In 1999-2011 scientists at the ANSP were funded by the NAWQA program to identify and enumerate algae to evaluate how river algal communities are affected by human activities and to develop algal-based water quality assessment methods. Over that time, more than 20 taxonomic workshops brought together phycologists and analysts from ANSP and other institutions. The initial goal of the workshops was taxonomic harmonization of the NAWQA algal data, but eventually, these taxonomic revisions led to discovery of several diatom species new to science, furthering our understanding of biodiversity in the US. The development and expansion of the Diatoms of the United States web flora was, in large part, supported by the NAWQA program to further taxonomic consistency and accuracy.
