This study presents newly recorded algal species from Wayanad, a high-altitude district in the Western Ghats, highlighting additions to Indian algal flora. A total of 126 algal samples were collected and documented 11 algal taxa which are new to India. The collection includes 1 diatom, 7 desmids and 3 species from the order <i>Chlorococcales</i>. This investigation marks the first comprehensive survey of algal diversity conducted in Wayanad between April 2019 and June 2021.

Efficient wastewater recovery is essential for sustainable water resource management and can help alleviate regional or seasonal water shortages. Directly discharging untreated wastewater into water bodies leads to significant environmental degradation and health risks, disrupting aquatic ecosystems. Implementing efficient nutrient and pollutant removal techniques is essential to mitigate these adverse effects. Thus, we safeguard the environment and ensure public health by managing water resources sustainably. Biological treatment, particularly by cultivating aquatic plants, offers advantages over conventional methods for nutrient removal and pollution mitigation. This study evaluates the effectiveness of <i>Chlorella vulgaris</i> Beijer. and <i>Scenedesmus quadricauda</i> (Turpin) Br�©bisson in treating industrial wastewater. By quantifying the removal of nitrates, phosphates, chemical oxygen demand, and biological oxygen demand, this study assesses the suitability of algae cultivation as an alternative to conventional farming.

The geographical position of Kerala, nestled on the southwestern fringes of the Western Ghats, contributes to its remarkable wealth of algal populations. The state's diverse ecosystems, ranging from aerial to terrestrial and aquatic habitats, further enhance its biodiversity. Kerala's extensive aquatic systems, encompassing rivers, lakes, ponds, backwaters, estuaries, and the sea, provide ideal conditions for a wide range of algal species to thrive. The major algal groups found in Kerala include <i>Chlorophyceae</i> (green algae), <i>Cyanophyceae </i>(blue-green algae) and <i>Bacillariophyceae</i> (diatoms). Green algae, in particular, dominate the algal distribution, while members of <i>Rhodophyceae </i>(red algae) and <i>Xanthophyceae </i>(yellow-green algae), are relatively less abundant. The presence of these diverse species contributes to the proliferation of algal growth in freshwater sources. Altogether, Kerala's geographical location and rich aquatic ecosystems make it a captivating hub for studying and appreciating the abundance and variety of algae in the region.

the current investigation entails a comprehensive assessment of the limnobiological conditions within Beru stream, located in the Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh. It examines both abiotic and biotic aspects, focusing on phytoplankton and fish diversity. Six phytoplankton genera were identified, falling under <i>Bacillariophyceae</i> and <i>Chlorophyceae</i> classes. Concurrently, 5 fish species were documented, belonging to the <i>Cyprininae, Danioninae</i> and <i>Sisorinae</i> subfamilies. Furthermore, our research involved the analysis of various abiotic parameters, including air and water temperature, pH, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, alkalinity, dissolved oxygen, total hardness, Ca<sup>2+</sup> and Mg<sup>2+</sup> hardness, chloride concentrations, as well as phosphate and nitrate levels. These abiotic parameters were correlated with both phytoplankton and fish population size. The study also undertook a statistical examination of the relationship between phytoplankton and fish population sizes. In order to evaluate the diversity within the stream, several diversity indices, including Simpson's index, Simpson's index of diversity, Shannon index of diversity, Pielou's index of evenness and Sorenson similarity index were employed. The calculated values of the water quality index (WQI) were found to fall within the range of 33.91 to 59.16. These values suggest that the water quality within Beru stream spans a spectrum from "good" to "poor" according to the WQI classification. Notably, it was observed that the presence of excessive nutrient levels, particularly phosphates and nitrates, could lead to the heightened presence of a diverse array of flora and fauna during the month of March. Consequently, based on the WQI assessment, March was documented as a period characterized by poor water quality.

The benthic cyanobacterium <i>Anagnostidinema pseudacutissimum</i> (Geitler) Strunecky, Bohunicka, Johansen et Komárek (<i>Coleofasciculales</i>, Wilmottiaceae) is reported for the first time from the southwest coast of India. The current findings extend the geographical distribution of this species to the marine environment of the southwestern Indian coast. The new records highlight the diversity and underexplored nature of benthic cyanobacteria in the marine ecosystems of the Indian subcontinent. The samples were collected from intertidal zones of the southwest coast of India. The discovery of this species underscores the importance of further research into cyanobacterial diversity in under-explored tropical coastal regions.

A new locality of <i>Pylaiella littoralis</i> has been identified in the coastal marine waters off the Cape Martyan Reserve (Southern Coast of Crimea, the Black Sea). In the Northern Black Sea region, which covers the coastal area from the Danube Delta to the Northern Caucasus, this species is considered a rare element of the natural flora with decreasing populations. However, in the Mediterranean Sea, <i>P. littoralis</i>, first recorded in 1960, is categorized as an alien species. Since the Black Sea regional conservation documents emphasize the Caspian-Mediterranean range of <i>P. littoralis,</i> we analyzed original publications for a period of more than two hundred years. Together with the results of our own observations, it showed that the species does not usually form abundant growths and thickets in the Northern Black Sea region, but it is widespread enough. <i>Pylaiella littoralis</i> was first identified in the Northern Black Sea (and in the Black Sea in general) in the early 1930s in Odesa Bay as an alien species, which was later overlooked. The erroneous idea about the occurrence of <i>P. littoralis</i> in the Caspian Sea before the launch of the Volga-Don Canal (1952) arose due to an inaccuracy made in the 1950s in the succession of citations that began with a publication from 1800. We believe that this multizonal eurybiont was introduced by sea transport through the straits into the Mediterranean and Black Seas almost simultaneously - around the early 1930s. After the end of the lag-phase of invasion, a rapid expansion of the species occurred. This could have been triggered by the intensification of marine traffic, climatic changes or progressive eutrophication of waters. By the 1960s, <i>P. littoralis </i>had colonized the coastal areas of both seas, and through the canal, it penetrated into the previously isolated Caspian Sea, where it had also spread widely by the early 1970s. Thus, <i>P. littoralis</i> is also a naturalized alien species in the Northern Black Sea region as well as in the entire Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. Its introduction, and rapid, widespread distribution did not result in a transformation of the native phytocenoses and biotopes of the Northern Black Sea region. However, the erroneous inclusion of <i>P. littoralis</i> in the rarity fraction of the natural flora of the region and the unreasonable conservation measures are obvious. KEY WORDS: Northern Black Sea region, macrophytobenthos, <i>Pylaiella littoralis</i>, distribution, conservation, biological invasion, alien species

Although the percentage of cancer survivors has increased over time, cancer remains the second leading cause of death worldwide. Chemotherapy, a common approach to treating cancer, has been successful with certain types of cancer, but has limitations resulting from cancer drug resistance. To address this, the search for new, effective drugs from natural sources has expanded beyond commonly investigated organisms to include less explored eukaryotic and prokaryotic microalgae from freshwater habitats. Due to their ability to adapt to very diverse ecosystems, these microorganisms possess enormous potential to produce novel compounds with biological activities, including anticancer properties. While there has been increasing research on marine microalgae, their freshwater counterparts have not been studied to the same extent. This review highlights the opportunity with extracts and compounds from freshwater microalgae from work examining culture collections in terms of their potential for providing novel anticancer drugs.

Interesting morphotypes of filamentous cyanobacteria were found in the terrestrial habitats of the Kharkiv region (biological soil crusts) and in the vicinity of Kyiv (old concrete wall in the forest). Morphological and molecular characterization of four original strains revealed that they belong to the recently described genera <i>Wilmottia</i> Strunecky, Elster et Komarek, <i>Pycnacronema</i> M.D. Martins et Branco, <i>Myxacorys</i> Pietrasiak et J.R. Johansen and <i>Tildeniella </i>Mai, J.R. Johansen et Pietrasiak. All are new to the flora of Ukraine. Analysis of p-distances, the nucleotide sequence of the 16S-23S ITS region and the secondary structures of its most informative helices, were used in our phylogenetic analyses sequenicing of the 16S rRNA gene. All Ukrainian strains joined the clades of the corresponding genera with a high degree of support in the Bayesian and Maximum Likelihood analyses. However, their species-level identification gave ambiguous results. Reliable result was obtained only for the strain of genus <i>Wilmottia</i>. It was identified as <i>Wilmottia murrayi</i> (W. et G.S.West) Strunecky, Elster et Komarek. This is the first morphologically and molecularly confirmed record of this species in Europe. Two strains were identified as <i>Pycnacronema</i> cf. <i>caatingensis</i> and <i>Tildeniella</i> cf. t<i>orsiva</i> due to their deviations from these species both in morphology and the 16S-23S ITS secondary structures. In the 16S rRNA gene-based phylogenetic analysis, the original strain of the genus <i>Myxacorys</i> took separate position among the known species of this genus and also had a number of morphological differences from them. Therefore, it might represent a new species, but this cannot be proven due to the lack of a 16S-23S ITS sequence of the original strain. Detailed description of the studied strains morphology with tabular review of corresponding species are given here.