Fragilariopsis cylindrus loves the extremes
When ice floes break up and turn over due to heavy seas, their brown lower surface is revealed. Here diatoms such as Fragilariopsis multiply and impose a brown hue on the sea ice; the piece of ice on this image is about 2 mm in length. Photo Dr. Thomas Mock, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, Great Britain
Algal researchers from the Phycology Section have declared the diatom Fragilariopsis cylindrus alga of the year 2011. ‘We are fascinated by this species because it can survive and even reproduce within the ice of the polar seas, one of the most extreme habitats on earth’ argues Professor Dr Peter Kroth from the University of Konstanz . Peter Kroth is Chair of the Phycology Section of the German Society for Plant Sciences (DBG).
