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Microcosm experiments with natural indigenous phytoplankton communities were conducted to assess the effects of waters from oil sands extraction processes, emphasizing the naphthenate and salt constituents. Process waters of varying ages (zero to eight years), remediation histories, and chemical composition were obtained from outdoor mesocosms and inoculated with phytoplankton assemblages from a reference lake in the study area. Community composition measures, including percentage model affinity (PMA) and canonical correspondence analysis (CCA), revealed significant community effects of water from systems less than five years old, with naphthenate concentrations greater than 20 mg/L, compared to water from the reference lake. Canonical correspondence analysis, PMA, and regression analyses further showed that naphthenate concentration was significantly correlated with community …