Ten or so phyla are represented in freshwater. This page gives an overview of some commonly found freshwater algae. T he algae have been grouped by their major features. More about the classification of algae and protozoa . There are many other small flagellated algae of non related groups.
Classification is difficult.
Institute of Terrestial Ecology, 1978. Many thanks to all the Micscape contributors whose articles this guide links to. For clarity their names are omitted in the links above. Some of the artificial groups and key features have been adapted from those in 'Collins field guide to freshwater life' by R Fitter and R Manuel, 1986. An Introduction to Microscopy Comments to the compilers Wim van Egmond and Dave Walker are welcomed.