Diatoms help determine the health and establishment of a wetland community. This research compares Greens Bayou Wetlands Mitigation Bank (GBWMB) and Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) using the total Diatom count and the types of genera present as indicators. In this study, we investigated the progress of how GBWMB has grown similarly or differently than the ANWR. We also studied how Hurricane IKE and the 2011 drought affected these wetlands. From the Data collected, the advisor and authors found that from 2004 to 2012 Greens Bayou has gradually become more stable and similar to Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge through the analysis of the Diatom community at both locations. The Research also indicates that the effects of Hurricane Ike and the drought in 2011 combined introduced new genera in GBWMB and also eliminated genera that were present in GBWMB but absent in ANWR. These results suggest that the complex community at Greens Bayou, with time, has become gradually similar to Anahuac from 2004 to 2012. This result can now guide the Harris County Flood Control District in establishing more mitigation banks around the city therefore aiding in flood control, waste water purification, and organic matter sequestration and degradation.
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