Nitzschia desertorum | Species - Diatoms of North America

Category

Nitzschioid
Length Range

13-22 µm
Width Range

3-4 µm
Striae in 10 µm

25-26

Contributor

Pat Kociolek - Mar 2011
Reviewer

Rex Lowe - Sep 2011

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Identification

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Description

Valves are elliptical-lanceolate with short, rostrate, narrowly round apices. Fibulae small, but distinct, 14-16 in 10 µm. Striae are punctate and resolvable with LM.

Krammer and Lange-Bertalot (1988) note that the central two fibulae are equidistant from one another, but this is not evident in the US populations. North American populations are more narrow than indicated by Krammer and Lange-Bertalot.

Autecology

Size Range, µm3

101-1000
Motility

Moderately motile
Attachment

Prostrate
Habitat

Benthic
Colony

Solitary
BCG

BCG 5
Waterbody

Inland
Distribution

Western rivers 2004 California coastal rivers 2017 Northeast lake sediments
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Original Description

Author

Hust. 1949

Original Images

Citations & Links

Citations

Cite This Page

Kociolek, P. (2011). Nitzschia desertorum. In Diatoms of North America. Retrieved December 26, 2024, from https://diatoms.org/species/46416/nitzschia_desertorum

Responses

The 15 response plots show an environmental variable (x axis) against the relative abundance (y axis) of Nitzschia desertorum from all the stream reaches where it was present. Note that the relative abundance scale is the same on each plot. Explanation of each environmental variable and units are as follows:

ELEVATION = stream reach elevation (meters)
STRAHLER = distribution plot of the Strahler Stream Order
SLOPE = stream reach gradient (degrees)
W1_HALL = an index that is a measure of streamside (riparian) human activity that ranges from 0 - 10, with a value of 0 indicating of minimal disturbance to a value of 10 indicating severe disturbance.
PHSTVL = pH measured in a sealed syringe sample (pH units)
log_COND = log concentration of specific conductivity (µS/cm)
log_PTL = log concentration of total phosphorus (µg/L)
log_NO3 = log concentration of nitrate (µeq/L)
log_DOC = log concentration of dissolved organic carbon (mg/L)
log_SIO2 = log concentration of silicon (mg/L)
log_NA = log concentration of sodium (µeq/L)
log_HCO3 = log concentration of the bicarbonate ion (µeq/L)
EMBED = percent of the stream substrate that is embedded by sand and fine sediment
log_TURBIDITY = log of turbidity, a measure of cloudiness of water, in nephelometric turbidity units (NTU).
DISTOT = an index of total human disturbance in the watershed that ranges from 1 - 100, with a value of 0 indicating of minimal disturbance to a value of 100 indicating severe disturbance.