Homework-Answer this question and email it to   biovcc@Gmail.com

Hw 6..1. Only a very few flowering plants have been able to invade the oceans. But the few marine ones  are very successful.  What are some reasons for the small number of marine flowering plants?  How do those that have taken the step manage to thrive in the environment?

Scientific
Classification

Systems

Why a Scientific Classification System?

n Ambiguity of terms

n Latin “dead language”

n Categorization of relationships:

Evolutionary

Structural

Biochemical

(NOT habitat)

7 Classification Groups:

n Kingdom (most inclusive)

n Phylum

n Class

n Order

n Family

n Genus

n Species (most specific)

n King

n Phillip

n Came

n Over

n From

n Greece

n Singing

5 Major Kingdoms:

Monera

Protista

Fungi

Planta

Animalia

n 1 cell, prokaryotes

n 1 cell, eukaryotes & algae

n Multicelled, absorptive feeders

n Muticelled, autotrophs

n Muticelled heterotrophs

Which is the most difficult to assign?

Species:

n Most specific

n Successful interbreeding

n Fertile offspring

Which group has the largest # organisms?

Kingdom:

n Cell types

n Prokaryotes

n Eukaryotes

n Cell number

n Nutrition

n Structures

Plant Kingdom

PLANT SYSTEMATICS

n Common names

n Have evolved over centuries in a multitude of languages

n Sometimes used only in a limited geographical area

n Problem with common names:

n One plant may be known by several names in different regions, and the same name may be used for several different plants…

Scientific names

Similar plant species form a group called a genus (plural: genera)…

Genera are grouped into families…

Families into orders, classes, divisions and kingdoms

Kingdom-Division-Class-Order-Family-Genus-Species

“King David Came Over For Great Spaghetti”

“King David Conquered Our Fifty Great States”

Species name

Each species has a single correct scientific name in Latin called a binomial (two names) – it is always italicized or underlined.

First name is genus name.

Second name is species name

Human: Homo sapiens

Cat: Felis catus

Dog: Canis familiaris Wolf: Canis lupus

Examples

Genus of maple trees is Acer

It has many species including:

Common name Scientific name

“Red maple” Acer rubrum

“Sugar maple” Acer saccharum

“Black maple” Acer nigrum

Taxonomic hierarchy

Species that have many characteristics in common are grouped into a genus.

Related genera that share combinations of traits are grouped into families.

Families are grouped into orders.

Orders into classes

Classes into divisions (or phyla for animals)

Related divisions/phyla are grouped into kingdoms

(e.g. house, street, city, county, state, country, continent, planet)

What is a species?

Species: a set of individuals that are closely related by descent from a common ancestor and ordinarily can reproduce with each other, but not with members of any other species.

Biological species: group of interbreeding populations. Offspring are fertile.

Species

Some members of same species look very different…

Definition of species

n Or, plants look the same, but due to polyploidy
(more than the diploid number of chromosomes), they cannot interbreed.

n For example: Ferns; evening primrose

Carolus Linnaeus

n Swedish scientist – Carl von Linne

(doctor and botanist)

born in 1707.

n Called the “Father of Systematic Botany”

n Established modern system of nomenclature

Linnaeus legacy

His binomial system of nomenclature, in which the genus and species names are used.

He classified 12,000 plants and animals, and many of the names he first proposed are still in use today…

n Hypoglossum subslmplex Wynne sp. nov.

n Fasciculus lamina rum simplicium aut subsimplicium erectarum delicatarum e base disciformi orientium; ranNflcatio tantum ad unum ordinem; laminae tantum usque 6 mm altae; margins laminae laeves; costa corticata destituta; omnes cellulae serierum cellularum secundi ordinis series cellularum tertii ordinis procreant; tetrasporangia tantum in una lamina procreant, cellulis ambo serierum secundi ordinis et tertii ordinis abscissa, vicina costa laminae, sic laterales cellulas pericentrales includentibus; sorus tetrasporangiorum non discretus in longitudino sed ad aliquot distanciam currens; sori spermatangiorum plerumque in turmis diagonaliter aut irregulariter dispositi, parvi et sejuneti aut confluentes; uno aut duo cystocarpiae in quoque femina lamina, in costa locatae.

n Diagnosis: A cluster of simple or subsimple erect, delicate blades arising from a discoid base; branching to one order only; blades only up to 6 mm tall; margins of blade smooth; corticated midrib lacking; all second-order row cells producing thirdorder rows; tetrasporangia produced in only the primary layer, cut off by cells of both second- and third-order rows in vicinity of midline of blade, thus including lateral pericentral cells; tetrasporangial sorus not discrete in length but running continuously for some distance; spermatangial sori arranged usually in diagonal or irregular groups, small and isolated or becoming confluent; I or 2 cystocarps per female blade, located on the midline.

n

n Holotype: Wynne 9959 (slide in MICH), on Halimeda tuna, collected by M. D. Hanisak, 19 June 1994, Content Keys, lee side of Florida Keys, Florida, U.S.A. Isotypes: slides deposited in MEL, PC, UC, US.

Animal Kingdom

Scientific Name:

n Latin

n Italics or underlined

n Genus species

n Homo sapien

Classification Criteria:

n Biochemistry

n Behavior

n Hair Color

n Genetic System

n Evol. History

n Nutrition

n Molecular Make-up

n Most (DNA)

n Not very

n Not very

n Most

n Most

n Most

n Not very

Similar Categories:

n Dolphin

n Man

n Fish

n Whale

n Bat

Similar Categories:

n Grasshopper

n Mosquito

n Spider

n Butterfly

Mammals arise from Theraapsids

Chimpanzees: distant relatives

Walking upright:

Lemurs: distant relatives

The ruffed lemur lives in the eastern rain forests of Madagascar. The lemurs and their relatives are believed to have evolved in isolation from the monkeys and apes after Africa became separated from Madagascar over 50 million years ago. Since the arrival of humans on Madagascar over 2000 years ago, at least 14 species of lemurs are believed to have become extinct.

n When Charles Darwin published The Descent of Man in 1871, he challenged the fundamental beliefs of most people by asserting that humans and apes had evolved from a common ancestor. Many critics of Darwin misunderstood his theory to mean that people had descended directly from apes. This caricature of Charles Darwin as an ape appeared in the London Sketch Book in 1874.

Homologous or Analogous Stuctures?

Homologous Structures:

n Shark/Dolphin fin

n Seal flipper/Fish fin

n Fish tail/Whale fluke

n Bat wing/Cat limb

n Bird/Insect wing

n Bird wing/reptile limb

n Seal flipper/human arm

n Dog limb/whale flipper

n No (cartilage/rays)

n No (bones/rays)

n Yes (bones/bones)

n Yes (bones/bones)

n Yes (bones/no bones)

n Yes(bones/bones)

n Yes(mammal bones)

n Yes(mammal bones)

Family or Genus Relations?

Family:

n Less closely related

n Larger group

Genus:

n More closely related

n Precedes species=

interbreeding

Family:Felidae

n Lions, tigers, leopards

n house cats,cheetahs, ocelots

Genus: Panthera

n Leopards (pardus)

n Lion (leo)

n Tigers (tigris)

Feline Family Members:

Genus: Panthera (Lions &Tigers)

Classification by characteristics:

n Fossil Skulls

n DNA Sequences

n Hair Samples

n Pictures

MARINE PLANTS

nMembers include seaweeds, sea grasses, mangroves, marsh grass, microscopic algae.

nthey are eukaryotic

ncontain organelles enclosed by a membrane

nphotosynthesis takes place in chloroplasts--green,brown, or red organelles.

nlack flowers, roots stems and leaves.

MARINE PLANTS

nWhile most are referred to as plants, some have flagella and show animal characteristics...and some are actually claimed by both botanists and zoologists as theirs!

nTaxonomically, a compromise has placed them in the Kingdom Protista…the unicellular forms.

MARINE PLANTS

nSeaweeds...dominant marine plants containing chlorophyll and additional pigments from blue to red.

nSeaweeds are all eukaryotic and most are multicellular.

n

• MARINE PLANTS

nBut some that are unicellular or simple filaments are considered seaweed because the classifications of seaweeds is based not only on structure,

nbut also on other features such as types of pigments and food storage products.

MARINE PLANTS

nClassification characteristics used to classify are;

•1. form which starch is stored

•2. composition of cell wall

•3. presence of motile cells with flagella

•4. level of complexity

n5. sometimes, reproductive patterns (reds)

MARINE PLANTS

nRed Algae is Rhodophyta

nGreen Algae is Chlorophyta

nBrown Algae is Phaeophyta

MARINE PLANTS

nAlgae are Thallus, meaning they lack true roots, stems, and leaves, fruits, connecting tissue etc. and

nphotosynthesis occurs throughout the plant, not just the leaves.

nParts: Holdfast, stipe, blade, air bladders (pneumatophores).

n(list functions)

MARINE PLANTS

nBrown Algae.

nPhaeophyta..microscopic to 60' make up the largest and structurally most complex.

nColors range from olive green to dark brown, due to yellow pigments fucoxanthin dominance over chlorophyll.

MARINE PLANTS

nPigments are xanthophyll and carotene and chlorophyll.

nThe simplest brown algae have a finely filamentous thallus as in Ectocarpus.

nThere is the fan shaped Padina.

MARINE PLANTS

nMany species of brown alga are found in the intertidal zone and known as rockweeds and in deeper areas of the cool coastal zones are the kelps, the largest and most complex of all brown algaes.

MARINE PLANTS

As mentioned before, kelp plays an important role in the coastal production with many organisms finding homes around the kelp beds.

Some kelps consist of a single blade, Laminaria, which are harvested for food.

Kelps have been estimated to grow up to 50 cm (20 inches) per day.

MARINE PLANTS

Alginic Acid, a gummy, slimy layer in cell wall, is used as an emulsifying agent (algin)..(Know uses) (algae Readings)

MARINE PLANTS

Brown algae...Nereocystis (bull kelp). The kelp is the sporophyte or diploid phase and

1. certain areas of the fronds (sori) become darker

2. meiosis occurs and haploid zoo spores are formed.

3. They settle to the bottom and grow into microscopic gametophytes.

MARINE PLANTS

4. The female produces eggs but holds them and the male produces sperm which are released and

5. attracted to eggs, fertilize them and

6. zygotes are formed which germinate into the sporophyte plant.

Kelp (how are chances for fertilization increased?) ....Fucus, another brown algae or rockweed, is again, like animals where the

MARINE PLANTS

1. diploid plant forms gametes through meiosis

2. fertilization occurs

3.the zygote immediately germinates back to the sporophyte

Gametes are produced in cavities called CONCEPTACLES.

MARINE PLANTS

nRed Algae

nRhodophyta has more species of these than green and brown combined.

nIt has the highest commercial value, and don't get as large as brown algae.

•absence of flagellate stages

•presence of other pigments mainly phycobilins

MARINE PLANTS

•Floridean starch as food reserve (scattered throughout cells)

•Existence of special female cells (carpogonia) and male gametes (called spermatia) for sexual reproduction.

•Cell walls with inner rigid component and outer mucilage or slime layer. This is like the alginates and very valuable.

MARINE PLANTS

They can also deposit calcium carbonate (lime) into the walls of some species (Coralline algae) (Coralline algae)

MARINE PLANTS

nThe structure of the thallus of red algae does not show the wide variation in complexity and size that is observed in brown algae.

nMost reds are filamentous but thickness, width and arrangement of the filaments vary a great deal.

nThere are many variations in the shapes, sizes and colors of the reds.

MARINE PLANTS

nOne important in marine environments are the red alga Corallines.

nThese are characterized by deposits of calcium carbonate around their cell walls.

nThese can be encrusting on the rocks or articulated, branching plants, with colors from light to reddish pink-white when dead.

MARINE PLANTS

nWarm water corallines are active in reef development.

MARINE PLANTS

1. Sporophyte produces tetrasporangia (site of meiosis) which produce 4 haploid tetraspores.

2. Gametophytes grow from the spores and their gametes (spermatia and carpogonia) fuse and

3. are retained and develop into a special mass of diploid cells (the carposporophyte)

MARINE PLANTS

4. which breaks up into many carpospores (diploid) and

5. these grow into a sporophyte generation which resembles the gametophyte (isomorphic) and..(go to 1)

MARINE PLANTS

Red algae Porphyra or Nori is a valuable food source but has an atypical life history with the gametophyte being the large leafy plant and the sporophyte being the tiny "conchocelis" found living in discarded shells. The Typical red cycle is that of Polysiphonia.

MARINE PLANTS

Green Algae

CHLOROPHYTA. The great majority of green algae are restricted to fresh water and terrestrial environments.

Only 10% are marine but they are dominant in environments with wide variations in salinity such as bays and estuaries, tide pools (sewage outfalls) .

MARINE PLANTS

nThese are the stock from which land plants derived and in full agreement in regards to pigment, starch, cellulose etc

nMay exist as single cells, simple or branched filaments, blades, organized into tubes that are intertwined and usually grass green in color.

MARINE PLANTS

nFew green algae are as complex as the other groups but their pigments and food reserve are the same as in higher plants. (evolved from green algae.)

nChlorophyll b in green and land but not other algaes).

nThey are unicellular, filamentous multicellular, shapes can vary in the same species according to their environment.

MARINE PLANTS

Enteromorpha is a thin hollow tube, Ulva, sea lettuce is leafy-like, Valonia, forms huge spheres /clusters of them in tropical waters., some branch and Caulerpa and Cladophora have tubes with many nuclei, spongy, branching thallus Codium and segmented with deposits of calcium carbonate in their walls to ward off predators but

MARINE PLANTS

end up cementing the reef together in reef areas...Halimeda... a Coralline green algae!

Life Histories of seaweeds involve an alternation of gamete producing phase (gametophyte) and spore producing phase (sporophyte).

MARINE PLANTS

Green algae...Ulva (sea lettuce) have two identical phases. 1. Sporophyte (diploid) produces flagellated zoo spores (haploid) (meiosis) and these 2. swim briefly and settle on the bottom and 3. grow into a gametophyte phase (male or female) and produce motile gametes which 4. fuse to form zygotes (diploid).

MARINE PLANTS

Codium, another green algae is more like animals and produces gametes by meiosis which fuse and form a zygote and grows into the familiar plant.

MARINE PLANTS

Marine Angiosperms (flowering plants)...few occur in the marine environment but those that do are usually very productive and adapted for their lifestyle. Of the 3 groups, mangroves, marsh grass and seagrass, only the sea grasses are adapted to live completely submerged in water. Pollination occurs under water.

MARINE PLANTS

Seagrasses are not grasses, and thrie closest relatives are probably lilies. Pollen is carried by water currents and seeds are dispersed by water currents and feces of fish and other animals that browse of the plants. Eel Grass (Zostera) is the most widely distributed of the 50 species and found in shallow, well-protected coastal waters such as bays and estuaries.

MARINE PLANTS

It has distinct flat ribbon like leaves. Surf grass (Phyllospadix) is on rocky coasts exposed to waver action. Turtle grass (Thalassia) is common in the keys. ( Manatee Grass (Halophila)).

MARINE PLANTS

Mangroves..80 unrelated species of flowering plants adapted to various ways to survive in the salty environment. Mangroves have a special root system using aerial roots to ventilate the system below the substratum (especially in anaerobic mud and under water).

MARINE PLANTS

The three types of mangroves found in Florida include the Red Mangrove (Rhizophora mangle), the Black Mangrove, (Avicennia germinans) and White Mangrove, (Laguncularia racemosa). These are found along the estuaries, canals, and form islands.

MARINE PLANTS

The term "Mangrove" is applied to a diverse group of tropical salt tolerant trees which are abundant in south Florida and the Florida Keys. These trees have been able to successfully occupy coastal environments where they have little or no competition from other species of plants.  

MARINE PLANTS

  In order to do this, the mangrove trees have had to cope with a number of problems including soft, oxygen-poor soil, periodic flooding of their root zones and a highly saline environment.

MARINE PLANTS

Some genera have seeds that germinate on the parent plant and drop as seedlings rather than seeds.

MARINE PLANTS

Saltmarsh plants, true members of the grass family, usually consists of succulent shrubs and herbs and grass-like species which can tolerate large salinity fluctuations. Cord grass inhabits the zone above the mud flats and can be submerged, and have salt glands to get rid of excess salt. Halophytes are found in higher levels of the marsh (pickleweed).

MARINE PLANTS

Phytoplankton...plankton..Greek for wanderer meaning that they are passively transported. Nekton are those that swim. Size categories of plankton:

MARINE PLANTS

nultraplankton: less than 2 um

nnanoplankton: 2-20 um

nmicroplankton: 20-200 um

nmacroplankton: 200-2000 nm

nmegaplankton: greater than 2 mm

MARINE PLANTS

Types:

Holoplankton...spend entire life in open waters

Meroplankton...spends part of life as plankton and part as a benthic or bottom dweller.

Tychopelagic...normally attached but break off and can then be found in the plankton.

MARINE PLANTS

Divisions

Cyanobacteria (Cyanophyta) Blue-green algae (Monera)

nChlorophyta green algae

nChrysophyta golden algae/silicoflagellates

nHaptophyta- coccolithophores

MARINE PLANTS

nXanthophyta yellow-green algae

nBacillariophyta diatoms

nDinophyta (Pyrrophyta) dinoflagellates & zooxanthellae

nCryptophyta cryptomonads

nEuglenophyta euglenas

MARINE PLANTS

Division Cyanophyta/Cyanobacteria Blue green Algae are prokaryotic cells specialized to carry on photosynthesis. Chlorophyll, phycobilins, phycocyanin, beta-carotene and xanthophylls are the pigments so color range is great..red, blue-green, black, olive, yellow, violet. The only other prokaryotes that carry out photosynthesis are some autotrophic bacteria.

MARINE PLANTS

There are hemosynthetic bacteria too that release stored energy in chemical compounds (H2S) . Blue-green algae contain a bluish pigment, PHYCOCYANIN. (Considered bacteria).

Photosynthesis occurs on folded membranes within the cell (rather than chloroplasts).

MARINE PLANTS

They do produce O2 etc. and probably played a role in the oxygen in the atmosphere.

The presence of this ultraplankton is only being discovered .

MARINE PLANTS

Responsibilities of blue greens include forming dark crusts along wave splashed zones , exploiting polluted sediments and even forming a few types of red tides (Trichodesmium erythraea).(skin rashes).

MARINE PLANTS

Blue-greens also carry out nitrogen fixation in the ocean, converting N into nitrates to be converted to proteins. Some blue-greens live on the surfaces of seaweeds and sea grasses (epiphites) and some are known to lose their ability to photosynthesize, becoming heterotrophs.

MARINE PLANTS

Chlorophyta..few marine planktonic reps. but lots of macroscopic, benthic types

MARINE PLANTS

Chrysophyta...golden/yellow color because in addition to chlorophyll. a & c there is a dominant carotenoid, fucoxanthin and many members have a cell covering of small siliceous scales. The silicoflagellates have an internal glass skeleton. Rare today.Characterized by star shaped internal skeleton made of silica and a single flagellum.

MARINE PLANTS

Silicoflagellates are one of the lesser known types of photosynthetic protists found in the oceans. They are prominent because of their bizarre “skeleton” which consists of a rigid flattened basket of hollow tubes. Two to 8 spines project radially from the central basket. Because the construction of this skeleton is so robust, scientists can estimate abundances of this organism fairly easily.

MARINE PLANTS

Fossils of the skeleton indicate that the diversity of silicoflagellates was once greater than the few species we have today. The cell itself is a lumpy bag containing golden-brown bodies (chloroplasts) that sits around the central part of the skeleton.

MARINE PLANTS

Where do they live?

Silicoflagellates are found in sun-lit zones of the of the ocean and are generally more common in colder waters. During winter they can be found closer to the tropics, but they retreat to cooler waters again in the warmer months. The distribution of their fossilised skeletons is used to help determine sea-temperatures in earlier ages

MARINE PLANTS

Haptophyta.. or Coccolithophorids, flagellated spheric cells covered with button like structures called coccoliths made of calcium carbonate. This was broken off the above class because of different types of flagella. Phaeocystis forms gelatinous clumps, visible and can effect migration patterns of fish.

MARINE PLANTS

nCoccolithophorales

nEmiliana huxleyi - global distribution, bloom former, major player in marine phytoplankton

nThought to be largest global producer of calcium carbonate, hence major sink for CO2.

n.

MARINE PLANTS

Also, blooms long ago followed by anaerobiosis, caused them to sediment and gave rise to oil deposits in the North Sea. The coccolithophores have small calcareous plates covering them and the patterns go way back in fossil records and are used by oil companies.

MARINE PLANTS

Xanthophyta...like Chrysophyceae but have no fucoxanthin pigment. The Xanthophyta include more than 600 species. Members of this group are photosynthetic organisms which live primarily in freshwater, though some are found in marine waters, in damp soil, or on tree trunks.

Euglenophyta...euglena..class contains only unicellular flagellates, chlorophyll. A and B and a flexible cell covering...no wall!

MARINE PLANTS

Euglenophyta...euglena..class contains only unicellular flagellates, chlorophyll. A and B and a flexible cell covering...no wall!

MARINE PLANTS

Fungi There are at least 500 species of marine fungi, most which are decomposers of dead organic matter. Some are parasites causing diseases in fish , shellfish, seaweed and sponges. Also some form associations with algae forming lichens and marine lichens may be found as thick, dark-brown/black or even orange patches on the wave splashed zones on rocky shores.

MARINE PLANTS

Bacillariophyta...diatoms...most important group in terms of primary productivity. The characteristic yellow-brown color is due to CAROTENOID pigments in addition to two types of chlorophyll (a and c). Half of the 12,000 species are marine. The brownish scum in a fish tank consists of millions of diatoms.

MARINE PLANTS

nDiatom Characteristics

n1. Usually unicellular but chains do occur

n2. Pigments chlorophyll. a & c and fucoxanthin (gold/brown)

n3. Food reserve is chrysolaminarin and oils (buoyant)

n4. Only flagellate cells in reproduction (uniflagellate.)

MARINE PLANTS

n5. Walls made of glass called frustule.

n6. Looks like petri dish

7. Two symmetries..radial and bilateral which divide diatoms into 2 sub-divisions..Centric & Pennates

MARINE PLANTS

Reproduction...valve to valve...one product of the division retains the parental epivalve (top) and the other the parental hypovalve (bottom) which results in the bottom being slightly smaller than the parent because a new inside always grows back.

MARINE PLANTS

Continued vegetative reproduction reduces the size until it gets to its smallest size and this diploid cell produces gametes which fuse to form a full size zygote. Only the small cells will undergo sexual reproduction and if they get too small, they can't even do that.

MARINE PLANTS

Dinophyta /Pyrrhophyta or the Dinoflagellates Mostly unicellular with 2 unequal flagella , one that wraps around a groove in the middle of the cell, and the other that trails free, and include the non-motile zooxanthellae (found in corals).

The are most abundant in warm waters and second to diatoms in cold water.

MARINE PLANTS

Characteristics of Dinoflagellates

1. Most are marine

2. Chlorophyll a, c, peridinin. Starch, oils , but can ingest food stuffs

3. Distinctive flagella pattern

4. Some without walls (naked) and others with walls (Armor) with cellulosic plates fitting together like armor which may have spines,

MARINE PLANTS

5. Half are colorless, some heterotrophic, sparophitic, phagocytic, parasitic and some photosynthetic. It is thought that through

evolution they have gained the ability to function as primary producers by "capturing" and using chloroplasts from other algae.

6. some bioluminescent

MARINE PLANTS

7. some responsible for red tides and 20 spp.. secrete toxins. They reproduce by simple cell division and form blooms that often color the water red, reddish-brown, yellow or unusual shades.

MARINE PLANTS

a. all toxic ones are photosynthetic

b. all are estuarine or neritic forms

c. all probably produce benthic, sexual resting stages

d. all capable of producing monospecific blooms (suggest competitive advantages through exclusion

MARINE PLANTS

e. all produce bioactive-watersoluable or lipid soluble toxins that are hemolytic, or neurotoxic in activity. (NSP, PSP, Dsp)

MARINE PLANTS

The Zooxanthellae are a variety of dinoflagellates which have developed a close association with an animal host. The hosts range from sponges to giant clams but the most important are the ones in the stony corals.

They help fix carbon through photosynthesis, release organic matter to be used by the coral, help in formation of the coral skeleton.

MARINE PLANTS

It was once believed that all zooxanthellae were the same species, Symbiodinium microadriaticum (Rowan and Powers, 1991). However, recently, zooxanthellae of various corals have been found to belong to at least 10 different algal taxa.

MARINE PLANTS

THE IMPORTANCE OF CORALLINE ALGAE

Corallines as carbon stores

Coralline algae take up carbon for use in the process of photosynthesis, as do most plants, but they have an additional mechanism of carbon uptake, the calcification process.

MARINE PLANTS

Calcium is deposited in the cell walls of coralline algae in the form of calcium carbonate.

Coralline algae may be one of the largest stores of carbon in the biosphere.

MARINE PLANTS

Non-geniculate corallines are of particular significance in the ecology of coral reefs, where they provide calcareous material to the structure of the reef, help cement the reef together, and are mportant sources of primary production. Coralline algae are especially important in reef construction, as they lay down calcium carbonate as calcite.

MARINE PLANTS

Although they contribute considerable bulk to the calcium carbonate structure of coral reefs, their more important role in most areas of the reef, is in acting as the cement which binds the reef materials together into a solid and sturdy structure.

MARINE PLANTS

An area where corallines are particularly important in constructing reef framework is in the algal ridge that characterizes surf-pounded reefs in both the Atlantic and Indo-Pacfic regions. Algal ridges are carbonate frameworks that are constructed mainly by nongeniculate coralline algae (after Adey 1978).

MARINE PLANTS

They require high and persistent wave action to form, so are best developed on the windward reefs in areas where there is little or no seasonal change in wind direction. Algal ridges are one of the main reef structures that prevent oceanic waves from striking adjacent coastlines, and they thus help to prevent coastal erosion.

Review Answers

Marine Plants Algae Review ANSWERS

T or F

B 1

A 2

A 3

B 4

No 5.

B 6

B 7

A 8

B 9

B 10

A 11

B 12

B 13

A 14

15 algin and carrageenan.

16. Monera

17. phycocyanin

18. prokaryotic

19. stromatolites

20. water

21 frustule

22. carotenoids

23 blooms

24. producers

25 red tides

26. zooxanthellae

27. all true

28 . diatoms - cell wall of silica and two flagella

29.. macrophytes

30. precursors

31. kelp

32. phycobilins

33. may involve an alternation of generations

34. an artificial sweetener

35. pollen

36. salt

37. germinate