Diatom Camp: Sixty years of Ecology and Systematics of Diatoms at Iowa Lakeside Lab

In 1963, Iowa State University professor Dr. John Dodd asked his postdoctoral fellow, Dr. Eugene Stoermer, if he would teach a course at Iowa Lakeside Laboratory (Lakeside). Stoermer taught the first “Diatom Clinic” in 1963 with five students. They met informally to work on their research material and discuss taxonomy. Stoermer taught the clinic for two more years, after which Dr. Charlie Reimer, Diatom Curator at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, formalized the course and taught for the next 24 years (1966–1989). Reimer's five-week course included field excursions, lectures, microscopy, exams, and a final research project. Reimer created the Lakeside Diatom Herbarium, following the structure of major research collections. He transported the herbarium microslides from Philadelphia to Lakeside and back again each summer. Stoermer returned to Lakeside from 1990–2000 incorporating research grade microscopy, digital imaging, and databasing in the curriculum. From 2000–2023, the next generation, Drs Sarah Spaulding (University of Colorado), Mark Edlund (Science Museum of Minnesota), Marina Potapova (Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University), and Sylvia Lee (US Environmental Protection Agency) shared teaching responsibilities, oversaw remodeling of Macbride Hall, and secured the Reimer Diatom Herbarium at Lakeside. They obtained funding for the J.C. Kingston Teaching Fellowship, a research microscope and imaging system, and 12 Leica microscopes and digital cameras. In 2024, teaching duties passed to new professors (and Diatom Camp alumni) Drs David Burge (University of Minnesota-Duluth; Science Museum of Minnesota) and Victoria Shaw Chraïbi (Tarleton State University). For over 60 years, students, professors, and visiting researchers created a supportive learning and research community. The synergy of people and place resulted in the discovery and description of 38 new species, over 75 publications, and more than 100 species treatments on the Diatoms of North America online flora. The instructors have maintained a long-term vision of training students in field collection, microscopy, sample preparation, and the biology, ecology, taxonomy, systematics, and applications of diatoms for environmental assessment and research. Indeed, the course has impacted the field of diatom research worldwide.