Each site was rated on a scale 1-5. The definitions are:

1: Provides minimal information but worth visiting

2: Provides information that could be used in a narrow range of application

3: Provides information that could be used in a broad range of application

4: Very informative. Should be visited.

5: Extremely informative. Innovative structure and design

The following sites are arranged in the order: Name of site (in bold), address, rating (in bold), keywords = followed by keywords (sites that only contains links are labeled "links" with no other keywords), summary of site.

A Collection of Botany Related URL's http://www.botany.net/IDB/ 5 keywords = links: An excellent site to begin a search or just browse. Contains no information in and of itself but has links to many informative sites. Most linked sites will be rated a 5 due to the large amount of information they can lead to.

Algae Gallery at the Chapman Lab http://chapmanlab.lsu.edu/ 2 keywords = images, electron micrographs, Cephaleuros virescens, Gracililaria spp., Trentopholia spp., Phycopeltis spp., sporangiophore, zoosporangia: Only images and not too many of these. The ones available are of exceptional quality. Mostly parasitic species but a good image of gracilaria spp. and the image of the Cephaleuros parasiticus zoosporangia is one of the best electron micrographs I've witnessed on the WWW.

Algal Physiology Web Pages http://www.swan.ac.uk/biosci/research/kjf.htm 4 keywords = physiology, photosynthetic membrane, diagrams, nutrition and transport, biochemical pathways, proteins: In some instances, diagrams can convey much more information than images can. Such is the case at this site. The diagrams are numerous and of good quality, unfortunately, the text associated with it is "choppy" and only gives brief outlines of the processes involved. That text is the only thing keeping this site from becoming a 5. Diagrams of the type presented combined with detailed text of the processes involved and digitized images would comprise the "ultimate" website

Baltic Sea Algae http://www.vyh.fi/eng/current/press/syke/2003/r030509.htm 5. keywords = eutrophication, phytoplankton, biomass, algal blooms, Gulf of Finland, Baltic Sea: One of the most innovative and comprehensive sites about a particular subject. Superb explanations of eutrophication in the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea and the consequent algal blooms that accompany this process. This project uses a ship-of-opportunity technique to monitor phytoplankton in this region by direct observation and monitoring equipment mounted on commercial vessels. This site contains several good images as well as a comprehensive listing of the phytoplankton of the Baltic Sea region. Quantitative explanations of the methods involved in monitoring the phytoplankton are given. Satellite images taken during the algal blooms convey information as to the geographic location of the blooms.

Marine Botany Goteborg University http://www.marbot.gu.se 3 keywords = Cyanophytes, Protists, Dinoflagellates, North Sea, euglenids, searchable database, images: The inclusion of this site is primarily due to it's publications section which contains informative abstracts of a variety of subjects concerning algae. It includes a checklist of species in the Skagerrak- Kattegat region of the North Sea. This site offers just a few images of algae but the ones available are of good quality.

Department of Botany UBC: Peoples Use of Algae http:/www.science.ubc.ca/departments/b otany/algae/index.html 5 keywords = cultivation, harvest, nutrition, life histories: This site MUST be visited by anyone looking for the commercial uses of algae. This site has superb text explaining the past and present methods of cultivation and harvest of algae by a variety of different peoples. Comprehensive listings of the useful substances, nutritional value, and important algae of the world by country can be found here. There is a section on life histories, unfortunately this site is under construction. When this feature becomes available it will be one of the few websites to discuss life histories that I could find. Excellent images of modern cultivation and harvesting techniques can be found here.

Phycological Images From Tsukuba Japan http://www.biol.tsukuba.ac.jp/~inou ye/ino/phycological_images.html 4 keywords = Japanese, images: The only thing that keeps this site from being a 5 is the fact that I don't read Japanese. Were this the case, this would probably be the best website out there thus far. There are still enough english words in parentheses to obtain first-class images and diagrams. If you can figure out what the diagrams mean without the aid of any text, than this site has some of the best.

Multicellular Protist Images From Wisconsin gopher://wiscinfo.wisc.edu:2 070/11/.image/.bot/.130/Multicellular_Protista/ 3 keywords = images, Chlorophyta, Rhodophyta, Phaeophyta: Only images here but several of them and most of high quality. If your looking for images for a report or presentation, this site should be looked at. The size of the images vary and some of the larger ones may take awhile to receive but worth the wait. There is also a site for unicellular protists that contains good images of diatoms and euglenids. This address is: gopher://wiscinfo.wisc.edu:207 0/11/.image/.bot/.130/Unicellular_Protista

Palynology at University of Calgary http://www.geo.ucal gary.ca/~macrae/palynology/dinoflagellates/dinoflagellates.html 4 keywords = palynology, dinoflagellates, microfossils, anatomy, life cycles: Palynology is "the study of organic-walled microfossils". This includes dinoflagellates and this site has some of the better scanning electron micrographs of these. The diagrams here are excellent especially the ones showing the basic anatomy of dinoflagellates and another showing the relationship between a chorate dinoflagellate cyst and theca. This site also contains good information about the importance of studying "red tides". Good links can be found here to other palynological sites and sites that concerning red tides.

Phycological Society of America http://www.psaalgae.org/ 2 keywords = membership: The inclusion of this site stems from the fact that this is the representative organization for phycology in the United States and as such should be joined by anyone seriously interested in this field. Unfortunately, this site is not very informative. Most of the links that look like they might be interesting lead you to an annoying message that reads, "My name is Ozymandias King of Kings. Look on these works, ye mighty, and despair." I have absolutely no idea what this means but most links here lead to this message. There are some newsletters and publications here that could be read if you are lucky enough to get through to them and not receive the annoying message. It's unfortunate that this site is so poorly managed. There are a few links to other sites.

Bowling Green State University Algae Images http://www.bgsu.edu/departments/biology/facilities/algae/index.html 5 keywords = links: Many digitized images can be found here. BGSU has it's own image database from 3 different locations and a geographical description of each site is given. The images in the BGSU site range in quality from poor to excellent with the majority falling under the latter category. All of the BGSU sites concern diatoms and, if this is your interest, then this is the place to be. This site has several links to other, mostly informative, sites and as such makes a good starting point in which to conduct searches.

Algae-L Bulletin Board http://seaweed.ucg.ie/algae-l/ALGAE-L.html 5 keywords = bulletin board, subscribe, e-mail: This site is where to post specific questions about algae that can either be posted to everyone on the bulletin board (approximately 854 members) or there is a list of members with their e-mail addresses and you can ask a specific member or a selected group. This is the place to go when you can't find the answer to a question anywhere as someone here will have a direct answer or can steer you in the right direction. Subscribing is easy. All that you have to do is e-mail them a message with the words SUB ALGAE-L "your name" all on one line. Shortly, you will receive an e-mail back stating that your message was received and has been forwarded to the owner of the list for approval. After approval, you will be e-mailed directions on how to submit inquiries. These directions should be followed explicitly.

Diatom Home Page at Indiana University http://www.indiana.edu/~diatom/diatom.html 5 keywords = links, diatoms, images, publications: While this site has many excellent links to sites concerning diatoms and other algae, it also has an information of its' own. Quality scanning electron micrographs of algae can be found here as well as several publications about diatoms and other algae. Another good place to begin a search.

The Grass of the Sea: Phytoplankton by GEK Inc. http://www.comet.chv.va.US/gek/phytoa.htm 3 keywords = diatoms, dinoflagellates, microscopes: This is a commercial site that sells microscopes but it has high-quality images of dinoflagellates and diatoms in color. Images in color is a rarity on the WWW and they seem to aid in clarity of the image if done properly. Not a lot of information can be found here but the text is concise and the images are excellent.

Red Tides in the Western Gulf of Maine http://crusty.er.usgs.gov/wgulf/wgulf.html 4 keywords = Alexandrium tamarense, interactive, models, analysis: This is a USGS site that discusses A. tamarense in the western Gulf of Maine. This is the primary dinoflagellate responsible for red tides in the region. There are good charts of the river discharge in the area and how these influence the red tides is discussed. There are also excellent GIS models of cell concentrations of A. tamarense in the region. One of the most unique features of this site are the interactive, 3D, hydronamic models using a program called Matlab. This program enables the user to interactively change variables such as, temperature, salinity, and cell concentrations of A. tamarense. Time of the year and year can also be changed. The output is in a GIS or map format. This is one of the most innovative ideas I have yet found on the WWW.

Nongeniculate Coralline Algae, University of Western Cape South Africa http://www.botany.uwc.ac.za/clines/ 4 keywords = coralline, calcium, bibliography: This is the premiere site concerning coralline algae.It contains an informative description of coralline physiology, ecology, and importance in the biosphere. This site uses the innovative idea of inserting links in the main body of the text that lead to examples, diagrams, etc…

Phycology Research <Phycological Research New research in phycology.

Conclusion

As stated previously, this is not an inclusive list but rather ones that I have found to be the most informative. There were several sites visited that did not make it on this list for one reason or another, usually lack of clarity or information in general. For example, using Infoseek and the word "algae" will give you approximately 90 out of 100 sites that are related to companies trying to "sell" you some aspect of algae. Cell-Tech Inc. is the worst culprit with the most sites. Most of these can be considered "junk mail" sites and should be avoided. As the number of sites concerning algae changes I'm sure that this list will eventually become outdated. If anyone reading this has any suggestions about adding or removing a site or comments about a site listed please e-mail me at: davwalk@ix.netcom.com

Also visit: Eutrophication in Lakeside Lake;http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/2143
Page created by: davwalk@ix.netcom.com
Changes last made on: Mar 14, 2008