ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors wish to acknowledge the special grant from the Third World Academy of Sciences, Trieste, Italy, in collaboration with the Italian Government, where over 75 per cent of the practical study was carried out.

We are also grateful to the authorities and management staff of the Instituto Italliano di Idrobiologia, Pallanza, Verbernia, Italy, UNESCO’s Advanced Phytoplankton Course Taxonomy and Systematics, Stazione Zoologica di Napoli, Italy, Institute of Freshwater Ecology (Freshwater Biological Association), Windermere, UK, and the University of California, Berkeley, USA, where the photomicrographic studies including electron microscopy were carried out.

We are thankful and appreciate the services of Engr. Dr. Emmanuel Ikpoza of the Faculty of Engineering, University of Benin, for his expert and computer skills in editing the manuscript. The authors take full responsibility for lapses and shortcomings in the production of the volume.