Mastogloia elliptica

There are 156 records of Mastogloia elliptica in the Montana Diatom Collection, nearly all of them from streams on the Northwestern Great Plains. The mean electrical conductivity of these waters is 3824 μS/cm, mean chloride is 83 mg/L, and mean pH is 8.6. However, in some of these waters such as Salt Creek in Wyoming, conductivity may range up to 45700 μS/cm and chloride content up to 13200 mg/L. Common diatom associates of M. elliptica on the Great Plains include Cymbella pusilla, Mastogloia smithii, Nitzschia microcephala, Navicula peregrina, Tabularia fasciculata, Amphora coffeaeformis, Entomoneis paludosa, and Ctenophora pulchella. Patrick and Reimer (1986) report M. elliptica as a halophilic to mesohalobic taxon characteristic of coastal areas, but also found in inland lakes with some salinity. In Europe, Krammer and Lange-Bertalot (1986) report M. elliptica from brackish waters in coastal areas and from saline inland waters.