Great Lakes Coastal Diatoms

Abstract

A Great Lakes Environmental Indicators (GLEI) project. Diatom community data were collected from periphytic substrates at approximately 0.5-3.0 m depths along two different land-use transects from more than 200 wetlands, bays, and high energy sites on the U.S. side of the Great Lakes coastline. Collections included four within-site replicates and approx. 10 percent re-sampling over a three year period. Additionally, approximately 25 offshore, open water samples were collected from surface sediment at depths up to 30 m. The data link with other GLEI datasets to provide water chemistry, site, and landscape information. This study represents the most extensive synoptic diatom dataset of the Great Lakes and includes both undescribed species and species that have not been previously identified in the Great Lakes. The major goal of this GLEI subproject was to develop diatom ecological indicators, and these indicators are presented in a number of publications. The diatom data in this database include the complete raw counts from all samples that were enumerated under the GLEI program, as well as corresponding (condensed) environmental data that were used to develop the indicators.