Conservation
Small and hard Aegagropila balls floating on the surface of the freshwater Loch Ollay on South Uist, Outer Hebrides, Scotland.
Aegagropila linnaei is protected in a number of countries such as Iceland and Japan where populations of lake balls are declining.
There are many reports of lake balls in the Britain and Ireland but there is no evidence to suggest that this species is declining in the British Isles.