Diatom flora of Beaver Dam Creek, Washington County, Utah, USA

Authors

Kurtis H. Yearsley, Brigham Young University
Samuel R. Rushforth, Brigham Young University
Jeffrey R. Johansen, John Carroll University, University Heights, Ohio

Abstract

The diatom flora of Beaver Dam Creek, Washington County, Utah, was studied. The study area is in a warm Mojave Desert environment at an elevation between 810 and 850 m. A total of 99 taxa were identified from composite samples taken in the fall, winter, spring, and summer seasons. These taxa are all broadly distributed and no endemic species were encountered. Three new records for the state of Utah were identified: Gomphoneis eriense Skv. & Mayer, Navicula elginensis var. lata. (M. Perag.) Patr., and Nitzschia calida Grun. The most important taxa throughout the study as determined by multiplying percent presence by average relative density (Important Species Index) were Cymbella affinis Kütz., Epithemia sorex Kütz., Navicula veneta Kütz., Nitzschia palea (Kütz.) W. Sm., and Nitzschia microcephala Grun.

Recommended Citation

Yearsley, Kurtis H.; Rushforth, Samuel R.; and Johansen, Jeffrey R. (1992) "Diatom flora of Beaver Dam Creek, Washington County, Utah, USA," Great Basin Naturalist: Vol. 52: No. 2, Article 3.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/gbn/vol52/iss2/3