File talk:River algae Sichuan.jpg

This file has been used in:   Jean Brainard (April 12, 2009). "Biomes, Ecosystems and Communities". CK-12 Flexbooks.

Might this be duckweed (Lemna) rather than algae?

On freshwater lakes, a uniform opaque green surface like this is often due to myriads of duckweed Lemna, tiny flowering plants unrelated to algae, carpeting the surface. Since the duckweed floats on the surface, the water under it is clear, and if the surface is disturbed, e.g. by a duck swimming past or a human hand, a gap in the green results. There seems to be such a gap near one of the horizontal slabs by the footbridge at the top of the picture.CharlesHBennett (留言) 05:20, 6 January 2018 (UTC)