Water quality can be directly related to the biodiversity within an aquatic system. One way to measure biodiversity is to examine the ecosystem - the creatures living in a given environment.
Ecosystems begin with the establishment of a biofilm.
Biofilms are a hot topic in microbiology today. Scientists are studying the ways bacterial colonies form these slimey layers. Biofilms can be resistant to antiobiotics and even immune systems. They are trying to find new information that will help us understand how the layers form, adhere to surfaces, and how they can be prevented. Biofilms moved to the forefront of microbiology after a 1994 case that involved hundreds of asthmatics being infected by a biofilm.