Periphyton communities are used in aquaculture food production systems for the removal of solid and dissolved pollutants. Their performance in filtration is established and their application as aquacultural feed is being researched.
Periphyton serves as an indicator of water quality because:
:*It has a naturally high number of species.
:*It has a fast response to changes.
:*It is easy to sample.
:*It is known for tolerance/sensitivity to change.