• Category
  • Length Range
    12.2-25.9 µm
  • Width Range
    1.8-2.3 µm
  • Striae in 10 µm
    11-12
  • Synonyms
    Belonastrum berolinense (Lemmerm.) Round and Maidana
    Fragilaria berolinensis (Lemmerm.) Lange-Bert.

Identification

Description

Valves are slightly heteropolar, with a one more narrow end. The valve outline is linear, with a tumid center in larger specimens. Apices are rounded. The ends of larger specimens sometimes subcapitate. Lineolate striae are alternate and parallel throughout and separated by a narrow axial area. The striae continue onto the mantle. The valve mantle is 0.8 µm to 1.0 µm high. The interstriae (virgae) are half as wide as the striae. No rimoportula is evident (Morales 2003). Short marginal spines and apical pore fields are present, but these characters are not visible in LM (Morales 2003).

Originally described as Synedra berolinensis Lemmermann, this taxon was first transferred to Fragilaria berolinensis (Lemmermann) Lange-Bertalot (1993), and then to Staurosirella berolinensis (Lemmermann) Bukhtiyarova 1995. Round and Maidana (2001) erected a monotypic genus based on this taxon on the basis of its planktonic ecology; however, after SEM investigations Morales (2003) concluded that the taxon belongs in Staurosirella because of lineolate areolae, alternate striae, and heteropolar valves.

Autecology

Staurosirella berolinensis forms stellate colonies and lives in the plankton of North American lakes and rivers (Morales 2003). Staurosirella berolinensis has been reported from California (Bahls 2009) and British Columbia (Cumming et al. 1995). Reported as Belonastrum berolinensis, this taxon was sampled in all of the Laurentian Great Lakes, most common in nearshore habitats and costal wetlands with a total phosphorus (TP) optimum just above 30 µg/L and a moderate chloride optimum (Reavie and Kireta 2015). This taxon is reported as being widespread in surveys of rivers from the eastern United States (US Geological Survey, National Water Quality Assessment program). Specimens illustrated here were collected from lake sediment cores from a pre-European time period.

Stberolinensis  Usgsbiodata
Credit: USGS/Biodata
Distribution of Staurosirella berolinensis in rivers of the United States. Accessed on June 26, 2017

Original Description

Zellen 25-34 µ lang, zu 4-24 zu büschelförmigen, stahligen,freischwimmenden Colonien vereinigt. Valvarseite gerade, in der Mitte etwas bauchig erweitert, an die Enden 1,3 µ breit. Querstreifen kurz, die Mitte nicht erreichend.

  • Basionym
    Synedra berolinensis
  • Author
    Lemmerm. 1900
  • Length Range
    25-34 µm

Original Images

Syberolinensis Original Text

Citations & Links

Links

  • Index Nominum Algarum
  • North American Diatom Ecological Database
    NADED ID: 175008

Cite This Page

Burge, D., Edlund, M., Morales, E. (2017). Staurosirella berolinensis. In Diatoms of North America. Retrieved March 29, 2024, from https://diatoms.org/species/staurosirella_berolinensis

Responses

The 15 response plots show an environmental variable (x axis) against the relative abundance (y axis) of Staurosirella berolinensis 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.