Diatoms

While flowering plants ornament the landscape and are very visible at Rocky Mountain National Park, some plants are seldom seen. Algae, which float in lakes, wetlands, and ponds in the park are virtually unnoticeable. They are very important, however, because they generate oxygen and provide food for larger aquatic (water living) animals.

Scientists are especially interested in one group of algae, the diatoms, because they are excellent indicators of ecosystem conditions. By studying the kinds of diatoms present, scientists can determine if acid rain is falling, if there are heavy metals in the water, if a lake is very productive, and many other things about the park's ecosystems.

Another bonus to diatoms is that their cell walls are made out of silica (just like window glass) and they can remain in the layers of sediments at the bottom of lakes for thousands of years. These sediment layers can tell us what the ecosystem was like in the distant past.

Diatoms Reported* from Rocky Mountain National Park

Scientific Name	Photo
Achnanthes holsatica
Achnanthes conspicua
Achnanthes laterostrata
Achnanthes levanderi
Achnanthes minutissima
Achnanthes oestrupii
Achnanthes rosenstockii
Asterionella formosa	click here
Aulacoseira alpigena
Aulacoseira distans
Aulacoseira distans var. nivalis
Aulacoseira lirata
Aulacoseira perglabra
Caloneis bacillum
Cyclotella stelligera	click here
Cymbella hebridica
Cymbella minuta	click here
Cymbella naviculiformis
Eunotia pectinalis var. minor	click here
Fragilaria brevistriata	click here
Fragilaria capucina
Fragilaria construens var. venter
Fragilaria crotonensis	click here
Fragilaria pinnata	click here
Fragilaria virescens var. exigua
Gomphonema parvulum	click here
Hannaea arcus	click here
Luticola spp.	click here
Navicula perpusilla
Navicula pseudoscutiformis
Navicula schmassmannii
Navicula variosatriata
Navicula vitrea
Nitzschia dissipata	click here
Nitzschia fonticola	click here
Nitzschia palea	click here
Nitzschia perminuta
Nupela spp.
Orthoseira roseana	click here
Pinnularia biceps
Pinnularia brebissonii
Pinnularia nodosa
Sellaphora laevissima
Sellaphora pupula	click here
Stauroneis anceps	click here
Stauroneis smithii
Synedra radians
Synedra rumpens
Tabellaria flocculosa	click here
Tetracyclus emarginatus	click here

* Information from:
An unpublished list supplied to the park by Alexander P. Wolfe, Earth & Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta