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Diatoms for Evaluating Excess Nutrient Conditions

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  • Overview
Indicators of biological condition based on primary producers have been developed and applied at local, regional, and national scales with relationships among these indicators, human disturbance, and water quality. Diatoms are an important primary producer in aquatic ecosystems and can be useful as biological indicators of changing nutrient concentrations, which are reflective of changes in nutrient loading. An advantage of diatoms is that they usually respond more rapidly to changes in water quality and can provide finer resolution (species-level) understanding of nutrient condition compared to other indicators, such as benthic chlorophyll a and macroinvertebrates. Several states in the US have used or are developing diatom-based tools to inform selection of numeric nutrient criteria and assessment thresholds. In this talk, we will discuss how diatoms can be used to understand water quality, provide an overview of the data Ohio EPA has been collecting over the last decade and how diatoms may be useful in cases with higher unexplained variation, and follow with results of a pilot study in Central Ohio where simultaneous measurement of diatoms and phosphorus was used to characterize nutrient condition status on Raccoon Creek along a stream reach with mixed point and non-point nutrient sources.

Impact/Purpose

This is a general educational presentation for the Ohio Water Environment Association (OWEA), a non-profit, wastewater related organization with over 2000 members dedicated to the education, preservation, and enhancement of water resources in Ohio. The talk will have 3 parts and I will speak about what diatoms are and how they could be used as indicators of biological condition. The other parts will be about Ohio EPA's current monitoring program and the results of a pilot project that samples diatoms and phosphorus from a creek in Ohio.

Citation

Linton, T., R. Miltner, AND S. Lee. Diatoms for Evaluating Excess Nutrient Conditions. Ohio Water Environment Association Webinar, NA, OH, August 11, 2021.
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Last updated on August 25, 2021
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