| Abstract: | The phenomenon of massive algae migrations to the surface of mud flats at low tide was quantitatively investigated. Differences were noted in the behavior of the individual species. This adaptation to the tidal rhythm is obviously effective for preventing the algae from drifting to the sea, and its development can shed much light on the natural history of the species involved. Euglena obtusa and Caloneis amphisbaena var. subsalina apparently arose by a natural selection process among ancestors from lentic freshwater bodies, while Navicula salinarum, Cylindrotheca signata, and several other diatoms probably invaded the freshwater habitat from marine mud flats, where they were preadapted to the tides. |
