Valves are elliptic-lanceolate to lanceolate with rostrate to subcapitate apices. The raphe is filiform and straight. Proximal raphe ends are straight and weakly inflated. The axial area is very narrow and linear, widening slightly at the stauros. The stauros is narrow and typically constricted towards the valve margin. Short striae are sometimes present in the central area. Striae are parallel or slightly convergent at the center, becoming weakly radiate near the ends. Striae are closer together at the ends than at the center. Striae are very fine, often irregularly spaced, and number 24-32 in 10 µm. Areolae bordering the stauros are more prominent and more widely spaced than areolae elsewhere.
Stauroneis siberica has been found in several lakes and ponds in the Northern Rockies, including Glacier National Park and Waterton Lakes National Park. The pH of these waters ranges from 6.9 to 8.5 and specific conductance ranges from 30 to 130 µS/cm. Stauroneis siberica is a species of mountainous regions and higher latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere. It has also been recorded from Finland (Lange-Bertalot & Metzeltin 1996), the Tirolean Alps (Lange-Bertalot & Metzeltin 1996), Bear Island (Metzeltin & Witkowski 1996), Siberia (Lange-Bertalot & Genkal 1999), the High Arctic (Van de Vijver et al. (2004), the Eifel region of Germany (Lange-Bertalot & Metzeltin 1996), Iceland (Foged 1974), and from South Carolina (Reimer 1961).
Bahls, L. (2011). Stauroneis siberica. In Diatoms of North America. Retrieved November 17, 2024, from https://diatoms.org/species/stauroneis_siberica
The 15 response plots show an environmental variable (x axis) against the relative abundance (y axis) of Stauroneis siberica 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.