Why were algae used to determine the health of streams?
Algae are very sensitive to water chemistry and habitat disturbance, and they have a long history of being used in water-quality monitoring. They also play an important role in stream ecosystem functioning, being a source of food and oxygen and providing habitat to other organisms, such as nonphotosynthetic bacteria, protists, invertebrates, and fish. Along with fish and benthic invertebrates, algaes crucial role in stream ecosystems and their excellent indicator properties make algae a necessary component of environmental studies that assess human impacts on stream health.
