Editing Diatom (section)

===Reason for success===
Diatoms are ecologically successful, and occur in virtually every environment that contains water – not only oceans, seas, lakes, and streams, but also soil and wetlands.{{Citation needed|date=February 2016}} The use of silicon by diatoms is believed by many researchers to be the key to this ecological success. Raven (1983)<ref name="Raven 1983">{{cite journal | last1=Raven | first1=J. A. | year=1983 | title=The transport and function of silicon in plants | journal=Biol. Rev. | volume=58 | issue=2| pages=179–207 | doi=10.1111/j.1469-185X.1983.tb00385.x| s2cid=86067386 }}</ref> noted that, relative to organic [[cell wall]]s, silica frustules require less energy to synthesize (approximately 8% of a comparable organic wall), potentially a significant saving on the overall cell energy budget. In a now classic study, Egge and Aksnes (1992)<ref name="Egge 92" /> found that diatom [[ecological dominance|dominance]] of [[mesocosm]] communities was directly related to the availability of silicic acid – when concentrations were greater than 2 [[Mole (unit)|μmol]] m<sup>−3</sup>, they found that diatoms typically represented more than 70% of the phytoplankton community. Other researchers<ref name="milligan 2002">{{cite journal | last1=Milligan | first1=A. J. | last2=Morel | first2=F. M. M. | year=2002 | title=A proton buffering role for silica in diatoms | journal=Science | volume=297 | issue=5588| pages=1848–1850 | doi=10.1126/science.1074958 | pmid=12228711|bibcode=2002Sci...297.1848M | s2cid=206507070 }}</ref> have suggested that the biogenic silica in diatom cell walls acts as an effective [[pH]] [[buffering agent]], facilitating the conversion of [[bicarbonate]] to dissolved CO<sub>2</sub> (which is more readily assimilated). More generally, notwithstanding these possible advantages conferred by their use of silicon, diatoms typically have higher growth rates than other algae of the same corresponding size.<ref name="Furnas 1990" />