Diatoms as Indicator Tool for Climate and Environmental Changes and Research Imperatives for Tropical Asia

Diatoms are microscopic autotrophic algae belonging to the Bacillariophyceae class. They may be planktonic, benthic, and epiphytic or epipelic etc., found in a wide range of habitats - freshwater, marine water and oceans. Their size ranges from 2 microns to several millimeters. Due to a silicified body wall, diatoms are preserved for long epoch of time as fossil forms.