SUGGESTED READING :-

A general introduction to the flora & fauna in ponds & streams Freshwater life by John Clegg.

A beginners guide to Freshwater Algae by Belcher & Swale. 1976.

An Illustrated guide to River Phytoplankton by Belcher & Swale 1979.

I do not know if the above are still available, but still obtainable is the modestly priced (£7 July 1996) Desmids of the English Lake District by Lind & Brook 1980. FBA pub. No. 42. From the Ferry House, Ambleside, Cumbria LA22 0LP. UK. A good introduction to the Desmids, many of the species described can be found World Wide.

For the serious student:- The Biology of Desmids by A.J.Brook 1981.

Algae including desmids:-  The Freshwater Algae Flora of the British Isles :-   John, Whitton,  & Brook. Expensive £90 in 2007. does not include diatoms.

References:-

.(1) Bellamy (1986)BBC Wildlife Vol.4. No. 1 page 4.

(2) Ells (1987) A desmid bloom,Microscopy Vol.35. part 8. page 661.

(3) Brook & Ells (1987) The Feeding of Amoebae on Desmids,Microscopy Vol. 35. part 7. pages 537-540.

(4) Ells (1990) Some notes on the Desmidiacae. & Invertebrate feeding on Algae. Microscopy Vol. 3 6. part 5. pages 429 -431.

(5) Brook (1987) Desmids - Algae with a taste for the unusual. New Scientist 10/10/1987.