Diatom in the context of "Sympagic ecology"

In hydrology, discharge is the volumetric flow rate (volume per time, in units of m/h or ft/h) of a stream. It equals the product of average flow velocity (with dimension of length per time, in m/h or ft/h) and the cross-sectional area (in m or ft). It includes any suspended solids (e.g. sediment), dissolved chemicals like CaCO
₃(aq), or biologic material (e.g. diatoms) in addition to the water itself. Terms may vary between disciplines. For example, a fluvial hydrologist studying natural river systems may define discharge as streamflow, whereas an engineer operating a reservoir system may equate it with outflow, contrasted with inflow.

Algae (/ˈældʒiː/ AL-jee, UK also /ˈælɡiː/ AL-ghee; sg.: alga /ˈælɡə/ AL-gə) is an informal term for any organisms of a large and diverse group of photosynthetic organisms that are not land plants, and includes species from multiple distinct clades. Such organisms range from unicellular microalgae, such as cyanobacteria, Chlorella, and diatoms, to multicellular macroalgae such as kelp or brown algae which may grow up to 50 metres (160 ft) in length. Most algae are aquatic organisms and lack many of the distinct cell and tissue types, such as stomata, xylem, and phloem that are found in land plants. The largest and most complex marine algae are called seaweeds. In contrast, the most complex freshwater forms are the Charophyta, a division of green algae which includes, for example, Spirogyra and stoneworts. Algae that are carried passively by water are plankton, specifically phytoplankton.

Algae constitute a polyphyletic group because they do not include a common ancestor, and although eukaryotic algae with chlorophyll-bearing plastids seem to have a single origin (from symbiogenesis with cyanobacteria), they were acquired in different ways. Green algae are a prominent example of algae that have primary chloroplasts derived from endosymbiont cyanobacteria. Diatoms and brown algae are examples of algae with secondary chloroplasts derived from endosymbiotic red algae, which they acquired via phagocytosis. Algae exhibit a wide range of reproductive strategies, from simple asexual cell division to complex forms of sexual reproduction via spores.

Plankton are organisms that drift in water (or air) but are unable to actively propel themselves against currents (or wind). Marine plankton include drifting organisms that inhabit the saltwater of oceans and the brackish waters of estuaries. Freshwater plankton are similar to marine plankton, but are found in lakes and rivers. An individual plankton organism in the plankton is called a plankter. In the ocean plankton provide a crucial source of food, particularly for larger filter-feeding animals, such as bivalves, sponges, forage fish and baleen whales.

Plankton includes organisms from species across all the major biological kingdoms, ranging in size from the microscopic (such as bacteria, archaea, protozoa and microscopic algae and fungi) to larger organisms (such as jellyfish and ctenophores). This is because plankton are defined by their ecological niche and level of motility rather than by any phylogenetic or taxonomic classification. The plankton category differentiates organisms from those that can swim against a current, called nekton, and those that live on the deep sea floor, called benthos. Organisms that float on or near the water's surface are called neuston. Neuston that drift as water currents or wind take them, and lack the swimming ability to counter this, form a special subgroup of plankton. Mostly plankton just drift where currents take them, though some, like jellyfish, swim slowly but not fast enough to generally overcome the influence of currents.

Micropaleontology (American spelling; spelled micropalaeontology in European usage) is the branch of paleontology (palaeontology) that studies microfossils, or fossils that require the use of a microscope to see the organism, its morphology and its characteristic details.

Chert (/tʃɜːrt/) is a hard, fine-grained sedimentary rock composed of microcrystalline or cryptocrystalline quartz, the mineral form of silicon dioxide (SiO₂). Chert is characteristically of biological origin, but may also occur inorganically as a chemical precipitate or a diagenetic replacement, as in petrified wood. Where chert occurs in chalk or marl, it is usually called flint.

Chert is typically composed of the petrified remains of siliceous ooze, the biogenic sediment that covers large areas of the deep ocean floor, and which contains the silicon skeletal remains of diatoms, silicoflagellates, and radiolarians. Precambrian cherts are notable for the presence of fossil cyanobacteria. In addition to microfossils, chert occasionally contains macrofossils. However, some chert is devoid of any fossils.

The dinoflagellates (from Ancient Greek δῖνος (dînos) 'whirling' and Latin flagellum 'whip, scourge'), also called dinophytes, are a monophyletic group of single-celled eukaryotes constituting the phylum Dinoflagellata and are usually considered protists. Dinoflagellates are mostly marine plankton, but they are also common in freshwater habitats. Their populations vary with sea surface temperature, salinity, and depth. Many dinoflagellates are photosynthetic, but a large fraction of these are in fact mixotrophic, combining photosynthesis with ingestion of prey (phagotrophy and myzocytosis).

In terms of number of species, dinoflagellates are one of the largest groups of marine eukaryotes, although substantially smaller than diatoms. Some species are endosymbionts of marine animals and play an important part in the biology of coral reefs. Other dinoflagellates are unpigmented predators on other protozoa, and a few forms are parasitic (for example, Oodinium and Pfiesteria). Some dinoflagellates produce resting stages, called dinoflagellate cysts or dinocysts, as part of their lifecycles; this occurs in 84 of the 350 described freshwater species and a little more than 10% of the known marine species. Dinoflagellates are alveolates possessing two flagella, the ancestral condition of bikonts.

Eugene F. Stoermer (March 7, 1934 – February 17, 2012) was a leading researcher in diatoms, with a special emphasis on freshwater species of the North American Great Lakes. He was a professor of biology at the University of Michigan School of Natural Resources and Environment.

A cell wall is a structural layer that surrounds some cell types, found immediately outside the cell membrane. It can be tough, flexible, and sometimes rigid. Primarily, it provides the cell with structural support, shape, protection, and functions as a selective barrier. Another vital role of the cell wall is to help the cell withstand osmotic pressure and mechanical stress. While absent in many eukaryotes, including animals, cell walls are prevalent in other organisms such as fungi, algae and plants, and are commonly found in most prokaryotes, with the exception of mollicute bacteria.

The composition of cell walls varies across taxonomic groups, species, cell type, and the cell cycle. In land plants, the primary cell wall comprises polysaccharides like cellulose, hemicelluloses, and pectin. Often, other polymers such as lignin, suberin or cutin are anchored to or embedded in plant cell walls. Algae exhibit cell walls composed of glycoproteins and polysaccharides, such as carrageenan and agar, distinct from those in land plants. Bacterial cell walls contain peptidoglycan, while archaeal cell walls vary in composition, potentially consisting of glycoprotein S-layers, pseudopeptidoglycan, or polysaccharides. Fungi possess cell walls constructed from the polymer chitin, specifically N-acetylglucosamine. Diatoms have a unique cell wall composed of biogenic silica.