A COMPOSITE RATING OF ALGAE TOLERATING ORGANIC POLLUTION(2).
From information on pollution-tolerant algae compiled from reports from 165 authors, the genera and species most often referred to as significant fall into a relatively stable series. Diatoms, pigmented flagellates, green, and blue-green algae are all well represented among the pollution-tolerant genera and species. The top 8 genera are Euglena, Oscillatoria, Chlamydomonas, Scenedesmus, Chlorella, Nitzschia, Navicula, and Stigeoclonium, and the top 5 species, Euglena viridis, Nitzschia palea, Oscillatoria limosa, Scenedesmus quadricauda, and Oscillatoria tennis. In some genera, e.g., Euglena, a single species is far more significant than all others as a pollution-tolerant form. In other genera, e.g., Oscillatoria, only a slight difference distinguishes the pollution tolerance of 2 or more species. Algal genus and species pollution indices arc presented for use in rating water samples with high organic pollution.
Federal Water Pollution Control Administration, Advanced Waste Treatment Research Laboratory, U.S. Department of the Interior, Cincinnati, Ohio 45226.
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Palmer