Benthic algae are important primary producers in lentic ecosystems and resources such as light, space, nutrients, chemical and physical disturbances, and grazing determine community composition and structure these communities. Physical disturbance is a variable that has been poorly studied in lentic habitats and little in situ experimentation has tested the importance of physical disturbance. Two studies were conducted in Douglas Lake, MI in the summer of 2006. First, natural communities along a depth and disturbance gradient were observed over the course of three weeks in mid summer. Second, in an experimental approach, sediments with benthic algal communities in tact were removed from areas of low and high disturbance and manipulated to see the effects of varying physical disturbances over the same three weeks. In areas of high disturbance Cocconeis placentula, Aneumastis tuscula, and Planothidium lanceolata were dominant, while areas of little disturbance were dominated by Cymbelloid diatoms and two species of Mastogloia and a paucity of the three taxa that dominated high disturbance sites. Medium disturbance sites exhibited higher richness and evenness than both the high and low disturbance areas. Further exploration of these data will be helpful in understanding the role of physical disturbance on lentic, benthic algal communities.