Abstract
The word periphyton is something of a misnomer in that a literal translation is too restrictive. The history of terminology associated with microbial communities attached to substrata is long, circuitous, and is filled with inconsistencies and redundancies. Having spent considerable time evaluating the etymological development of various terms for the attached communities, I conclude that it is perhaps best simply to accept the word periphyton as it is widely understood: a complex community of microbiota (algae, bacteria, fungi, animals, inorganic and organic detritus) that is attached to substrata. The substrata are inorganic or organic, living or dead.
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© 1983 Dr W. Junk Publishers, The Hague
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Wetzel, R.G. (1983). Opening remarks. In: Wetzel, R.G. (eds) Periphyton of Freshwater Ecosystems. Developments in Hydrobiology, vol 17. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-7293-3_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-7293-3_2
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-009-7295-7
Online ISBN: 978-94-009-7293-3
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive