This book gives an overview of the state of the art in chrysophyte research, how our knowledge has expanded and what problems are in focus now.It shows the importance of the available techniques and the shift in interest from light microscopy to electron microscopy, and from morphology to biochemistry and gene technology [...] The knowledge of the species and their nutritional strategies has made it possible to include them rationally in ecological investigations, e.g. in food web studies and in environmental monitoring. This has also enhanced their use as ecological indicators, especially based on the silica scales and stomatocysts in paleoecology, also as markers for future climatic changes. (Quote from the epilogue)