Summary of Lake Whatcom Algal Research, 1987-2021

The purpose of this report is to provide a brief description of the major algal taxonomy projects completed in Lake Whatcom and to create a digital image library of many of the taxa1 reported from the lake from 1987-2017. A simple taxonomic key is also included for students and citizen scientists who would like to develop their algal identification skills. Eight taxonomy projects and hundreds of digital images were used to develop the Lake Whatcom algal species list and distribution summary. The eight projects were conducted between 1987 and 2017 and included identification of algal taxa to at least the genus level. Additional details like numerical abundance, biovolume, site-to-site variations, and seasonal patterns can be found in the original publications and data sets.