Blue green algae/cyanobacteria

Description:

Tiny cocci in loosely spherical/globular arrangement. Colonies extremely mucoid, buoyant and bright green. 400x.

Habitat:

Willamette River shore in an urban area during a very dry period when the water table was low, resulting in an algal bloom that originated in the Ross Island Lagoon and was spread by the current.

Notes:

I wore gloves and goggles, as this species can potentially produce toxins. Local scientists identified the species, otherwise I would have had no idea.