Arcellaceans as Paleoenvironmental Indicators

Andrew Dalby, Chris Gallagher, Arun Kumar, Tim Patterson, and Ed Reinhardt
Ottawa-Carleton Geoscience Centre

Arcellaceans, also known as thecamoebians, are single-celled organisms which live in freshwater ponds and lakes. They form an agglutinated test (microscopic shell) from tiny grains of sand or other usable material. These organisms are extremely resistant to environmental contamination and are now being used to monitor remediation in lakes polluted with mine tailings.