Lentic - standing water- competition between phytoplankton & benthic algae most benthic produce mucilage.

Pond: Algae people define ponds differently: where all water is in photic zone; often vascular plants are dominant; floating mats of filamentouse algae/cyanophytes

Lakes: possess areas below photic zone. Most algae exist in phytoplankton or shallow benthic areas -- example: Chara- large green algae.

Bogs: final stage of a eutrophic pond. -Overgrown with vascular plants and moss. -Acidic water from tannins and humic acid. -High organic matter. -Low in minerals. -Algae: desmids, cyanophytes, greens

Lotic- Flowing water- primary productivity and grazing happens in benthic zone. Succession: 1. Initial coating of organic sedimentation bacteria & cyanophytes 2. Low profile diatoms 3. Mucilage traps spores of larger algae (green mossy type rocks)

Periphyton- microorganisms associated with bottom

Haplobenthos-algae growing on or in a solid substrate - rocks, canal walls, piers etc.

Epilithion- growing on rocks exposed to air

Endolithion- growing in rock

Epiphyte- algae growing on another plant

Epizoic - algae growing on an animal

Aerial algae- Most common: cyanophytes, greens

Soil algae: most important - greens = low pH cyanophytes = High pH. Important because greens increase organic matter in soil (moisture retention). Cyanophytes fix nitrogen such as anabeana/azolla

Desert: mucilage from Clamydomonas mexicana(green algae ) helps to cement soil surfaces keeps erosion down

Problems of aerial algae: once growing on hard surfaces in moist areas it destroys surfaces (buildings, statues, caves) - Endolithic algae seen on desert rocks most common are: coccoid cyanophytes (Blue greens) - snow algae (green or red) Clamydomonas nivilas

Lichens- Unusual because it is a fungus & endosymbiotic algae, 70% of all lichens have a unicellular green - genus Trebouxia. 22% contain other greens from 30 different genera. 8% cyanophytes usually from genus Nostoc

Algae: either 1. scattered through thallus of fungus or 2. In layers inside fungus thallus

90% photosynthetic product used by the fungus