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| NAS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species |
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Common Name: Diatom
Taxonomy: available through 
Identification: Cells of this diatom species are cylindrical, contain one chloroplast, and form chains. Valve surfaces are flat to somewhat rounded. There are fultoportulae in a ring around the edges, from which hollow marginal processes emerge, perpendicular to the valve face, and which connect to the next cells’ processes. The number of marginal processes and their length are positively related to salinity. Areolae are frequently rectangular, especially on the mantle, and arranged in a radial pattern on the valves. There are typically 3–4 areolae between each process (Hasle and Evensen 1975, 1976; Paasche et al. 1975; Sarno et al. 2005).Valve diameter of S. subsalsum can vary from 2.6–10.3 μm and may be positively related to salinity (Hasle and Evensen 1975; Genkal and Kuzmin 1980; Sarno et al. 2005).
Size: diameter <11 microns
Native Range: S. subsalsum is native to Eurasian water bodies including the Baltic Sea, the Caspian Sea, northern Germany, Sweden, Finland, and the Sea of Azov (Hasle and Evensen 1975; Mills et al. 1993; Sarno et al. 2005).
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Interactive maps: Continental US, Alaska, Hawaii, Caribbean
Nonindigenous Occurrences: S. subsalsum was first recorded in 1973 in Lake Erie and subsequently recorded in Lake Ontario, Lake Michigan, and Lake Huron (Hasle and Evensen 1976; Stoermer 1978; Mills et al. 1993).
Ecology: S. subsalsum is a fresh to brackish water species, usually occurring in salinities up to 15‰ in rivers, lakes, inland seas, coastal waters, and marshes, and often associated with eutrophic conditions (Hasle and Evensen 1975; Mills et al. 1993; Clarke 1995; Gibson et al. 2003). S. subsalsum has been recorded in temperate regions in spring, summer, and fall. In the Great Lakes it has been recorded in the spring and in the St. Lawrence estuary in the summer. It is particularly known to occur during periods of elevated water temperature in the Great Lakes (Cardinal and Berard-Therriault 1976; Reuter 1979; Stoermer 1978; Gibson et al. 1993). In the Gulf of Mexico, S. subsalsum has been recorded during the rainy season from July to February (Castillo et al. 1995).
Means of Introduction: S. subsalsum was very likely introduced in ships’ ballast water to the Great Lakes drainage (Mills et al. 1993).
Status: Established where recorded.
Impact of Introduction: Unknown.
Remarks: S. subsalsum has also been recorded from waters in Argentina (Devercelli 2006), Brazil (John 2002), and the Gulf of Mexico (Castillo et al. 1995).
References
Cardinal, A. and L. Berard-Therriault. 1976. The phyto plankton of the upper St. Lawrence Estuary, Quebec. Internationale Revue der Gesamten Hydrobiologie 61(5):639-648.
Castillo, J. A., M. E. Meave Del Castillo, and U. Hernandez-Becerril. 1995. Morphology and distribution of species of the diatom genus Skeletonema in a tropical coastal lagoon. European Journal of Phycology 30(2):107-115.
Clarke, K. B. 1995. Skeletonema subsalsum (Cleve-Euler) Bethge: some accounts of its occurrence in East Anglia. Quekett Journal of Microscopy 37(6):476-484.
Devercelli, M. 2006. Phytoplankton of the middle Parana River during and anomalous hydrological period: a morphological and functional approach. Hydrobiologia 563:465-478.
Genkal, S. I. and G. V. Kuzmin. 1980. Taxonomy and biology of little known fresh water Skeletonema spp. Bacillariophyta. Gidrobiologicheskii Zhurnal 16(4):25-30.
Gibson, C. E., N. J. Anderson, Q. Zhou, M. Allen, and P. G. Appleby. 2003. Changes in sediment and diatom deposition in Lower Lough Erne. Biology and Environment 103B(1):31-39.
Gibson, C. E., R. D. McCall, and A. Dymond. 1993. Skeletonema subsalsum in a freshwater Irish lake. Diatom Research 8(1):65-71.
Hasle, G. R. and D. L. Evensen. 1975. Brackish water and fresh water species of the diatom genus Skeletonema. Part I Skeletonema subsalsum. Phycologia 14(4):283-297.
Hasle, G. R. and D. L. Evensen. 1976. Brackish water and freshwater species of the diatom genus Skeletonema. II. Skeletonema potamos comb. nov. Journal of Phycology 12:73-82.
Mills, E. L., J. H. Leach, J. T. Carlton, and C. L. Secor. 1993. Exotic species in the Great Lakes: a history of biotic crises and anthropogenic introductions. Journal of Great Lakes Research 19(1):1-54.
Paasche, E., S. Johansson, and D. L. Evensen. 1975. An effect of osmotic pressure on the valve morphology of the diatom Skeletonema subsalsum. Phycologia 14(4):205-211.
Reuter, J. E. 1979. Seasonal distribution of phyto plankton biomass in a nearshore area of the central basin of Lake Erie, USA/Canada 1975-1976. Ohio Journal of Science 79(5):218-226.
Sarno, D., W. H. C. F. Kooistra, L. K. Medlin, I. Percopo, and A. Zingone. 2005. Diversity in the genus Skeletonema (Bacillariophyceae). II. An assessment of the taxonomy of S. costatum-like species with the description of four new species. Journal of Phycology 41(1):151-176.
Stoermer, E. F. 1978. Phytoplankton assemblages as indicators of water quality in the Laurentian Great Lakes. Transactions of the American Microscopical Society 97:2-16.
Torgan, L. C., J. G. Tundisi, and L. F. H. Niencheski. 2002.
Seasonal variation of planktonic diatoms in Patos lagoon, southern
Brazil. Proceedings of the 15th international diatom symposium.
15:459-470.
Author: Rebekah M. Kipp
Contributing Agencies: 
NOAA - GLERL
Revision Date: 7/26/2007 Citation for this information:
Rebekah M. Kipp. 2009. Skeletonema subsalsum. USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database, Gainesville, FL.
<http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.asp?speciesID=2712> Revision Date: 7/26/2007
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