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AFTER 40 years of working with microscopic algae in marine and freshwater
environments, from oceans to flower vases, New Zealand researcher Vivienne
Cassie Cooper has tired of waiting for the community to recognise their
significance. So she has privately published a lavishly illustrated, 160-page
book about the organisms. Entitled Microalgae: Microscopic marvels, the
book is aimed at general readers and students. It is estimated that microalgae,
particularly diatoms, produce about 70 per cent of the world’s oxygen. They also
form the basis of the marine and freshwater food chains. And Cooper says they
have the most beautiful forms in the whole scheme of evolution. Ironically, with
the advent of red tides and blue-green algae contamination of freshwater, there
is now increasing interest in microalgae. The book is available from Riverside
Books, P.O. Box 7054, Hamilton, New Zealand for A$30 (NZ$30 in New
Zealand) plus a handling charge.