debor042

What is algae? This seems like a very simple and easy to answer question. Surprisingly though, many people (even those doing research on specific groups of algae like me), have a tough time answering this question. Mainly, I think this is because we rarely get this question from other people (scientists or laypeople). Also, since science often encourages you to focus your research questions, we rarely have to even think about how a specific group of algae is related to other groups of algae, or how algae fits into the evolutionary scheme of other living organisms (are algae plants or animals?...).  Anabaena , a common genus of cyanobacteria (aka "blue-green algae"). Previously, I blogged about diatoms that live in periphyton in the Everglades, and what I do to periphyton to remove all the other algae that obscure the diatoms I want to study. So far, I haven't explained what algae is at all, and only explained that diatoms are a special group of algae with cell walls m...

My research is on the diatom communities of the Everglades. These silicious, environmentally sensitive algae like to live buried within a complex biofilm called periphyton .With the naked eye, periphyton just looks like muck or scum. But there is a hidden microscopic world that is quite fascinating and even beautiful. Everglades periphyton magnified 1000x: filamentous cyanobacteria and a diatom Coccoid and filamentous cyanobacteria Calcite crystals on filamentous cyanobacteria The cells of Utricularia, bladderwort (a carnivorous aquatic plant) Rod shaped bacteria Cosmarium, a green algae Diploneis, a diatom Nematode that wouldn't sit still for its photo