Hi all, It is back to the <"
ubiquity of diatoms">, there is an enormous assemblage of species that changes along environmental gradients.
Have a look at the <"
Lenntech page on eutrophication">, which shows how the cyanobacterial and algal assemblages are affected by elevated levels of nitrogen and phosphorus. I don't look on
<"algae and plants as really any different">.
Because diatoms have a persistent "skeleton" (frustule) they can be used in
<"biotic indices">. Their persistence allows them to both indicate present, and former, conditions by differences in their relative abundance in the water column and the sediment.
cheers Darrel