Diatoms are microscopic algae that are photosynthetic. Each diatom cell is enclosed in a silica shell (called the frustule) which have distinctive shapes and ornamentations. The ornamentations are often species specific and can thus provide important information for their identification and classification. Diatoms inhabit almost all bodies of water including fresh, brackish and salt water, and also terrestrial habitats such as wet rocks, mosses, soils, and even caves. They are either planktonic (living in the open water) or benthic (growing associated with or attached to a particular surface). Different estimates of diatom diversity have been offered. Some authors suggested there may be more than 200,000 species of diatoms (extant and fossil) but more recently a much reduced estimate of 20,000 species was given. Several sites in the world are known as hot-spots for high diatom diversity, most of which represent oligotrophic lakes (i.e. those that are poor in nutrients and abundant
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