Algae have evolved to be highly adaptable organisms. Sensitive to their environment, algae can respond to changing conditions within their habitat by adjusting their growth-, photosynthetic-, and nutrient uptake rates. However, different algae have varying sensitivities to environmental factors like temperature, nutrients, light, and pollution. For example, warmer water temperatures can enable some algae, including cyanobacteria, to grow faster, while some genera of diatoms and green algae prefer cold waters. Some genera of algae, like Euglena, thrive in high-nutrient environments while others, like green desmids, prefer low-nutrient waters. This means that changes in the types and densities of particular algae populations within a lake can indicate shifts in ecosystem conditions.
LEA uses a FlowCam Cyano flow imaging microscope to document the many kinds of algae genera living in area lakes. This helps us better characterize the overall water quality conditions of our lakes and, over time, will enable us to document if or how changing environmental conditions affect life within the lake.
–Maggie Welch, Staff Limnologist
