Galanthus number of species are on the IUCN Red List of threatened species, with the conservation status being "G. trojanus" as critically endangered, four species vulnerable, "G. nivalis" is near threatened and several species show decreasing populations. "G. panjutinii" is considered endangered. One of its five known sites, at Sochi, was destroyed by preparations for the 2014 Winter Olympics. "Galanthus" species and cultivars are extremely popular as symbols of spring and are traded more than any other wild-source ornamental bulb genus. Millions of bulbs are exported annually from Turkey and Georgia. For instance export quotas for 2016 for "G. elwesii" are
Chlamydomonas nivalis "C. nivalis" is complex, it also helps the algae exploit its niche and survive unfavourable conditions. As a result, "C. nivalis" is one of the best known and studied snow algae. When taking account of the photoprotective effect of its secondary carotenoid, astaxanthin, among the other adaptive mechanisms to its extreme habitat, it can be understood how "C. nivalis" became so dominant in microbial snow algae communities. Green motile offspring are produced in the spring and throughout the summer. They develop into red dormant cysts, the stage where this organism spends most of its life cycle, as the winter season