Diatom metrics for monitoring eutrophication in rivers of the United States

Two major arguments in favor of using diatoms in water-quality assessments are that their distributions are cosmopolitan and their ecology is well studied. If these assumptions are true, diatom-based monitoring tools could be considered universal and used in any geographic area. Indeed, some diatom metrics based on species indicator values developed in Europe are often used in North America and many other parts of the world. There is considerable evidence, however, that diatom metrics are less useful when applied in a geographic area other than where species relations with environmental characteristics were originally studied to construct the metrics. We used U.S. Geological Survey National Water-Quality Assessment program data to create diatom metrics for monitoring eutrophication, and show here that these metrics provide better assessments in U.S. rivers than similar metrics developed for European inland waters. We also demonstrate that metrics developed by studying diatom–nutrient relationships on the continental-scale can be further refined if combined with regional-scale studies.