New Jersey Center for Water Science & Technology
Guide to Freshwater Algae of New Jersey
Welcome to NJCWST’s Guide to Freshwater Algae of New Jersey!
Our website is intended to familiarize users with the wonderful world of freshwater algae, and to help users identify microscopic algal specimens.
Looking at something under the microscope that you need help identifying? Our beginner-friendly visual identification guide will help you figure out whether or not it's algae, and (if it is algae) which major algal group it belongs to.
Explore the rest of the site to learn more about algae and other aquatic microorganisms:
In addition to algae, a wide variety of other protists and microscopic animals can also be found in freshwater habitats. To learn about the differences between algae and these other microorganisms, visit our Introduction to Aquatic Microorganisms page.
Algae are an extremely diverse group of organisms, but they all have some important characteristics in common—that’s why they’re all called algae! Check out the Overview of Algae page to read about the evolutionary history of algae and their defining traits.
To learn more about the different algal groups included in our guide (and to view our image galleries), visit the pages below.
Other helpful pages on this site:
Other NJCWST resources
For a deeper dive into the world of cyanobacteria identification, visit our Guide to Freshwater Cyanobacteria of New Jersey.
Learn more about NJCWST's Phytoplankton Lab.