Diatom Assemblages of the Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge and Diatom Allometry in the Southwestern United States

Abstract

This thesis is a first account of the diatoms of the Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge in Alfalfa County, Oklahoma. There is also a chapter with preliminary work investigating the allometry of diatom assemblages of the Southwestern United States. The main objectives of study at the Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge were to investigate the relationship between diatom assemblage composition and salinity as well as to create a species list for the sites investigated. To accomplish this I used samples from a diversity of aquatic habitats found at the Refuge with a large range in salinity. The main objective of the diatom allometry study was to investigate the relationship between diatom biovolume and abundance. To accomplish this I calculated average biovolume for each species found, and grouped all species into size classes.