Muddy Area with Sick Grebe
Benthic Flora 
Trybionella hungarica
Tryblionella and Nitzchia frustulum
Nitzchia frustulum
Gyrosigma wormleyi
Diploneis bombus
Caloneis africana
Brachysira aponina
Amphora beaufortiana
Amphora
Benthic Flora
Many diatoms can be found in the nearshore sediments of the Salton Sea, either attached to sand grains or rocks, or living on the mud. They can be seen forming dense patches of brownish color on the substrate. These diatoms are usually robust with heavily silicified frustules (e.g. Caloneis africana, Diploneis bombus). Some of them are motile; they secrete mucus that allows them to glide freely on the mud. Especially in the summer, clumps of cyanobacteria with their entrained benthic diatoms break free from the bottom to float at the surface in dense floating mats.
