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Exploring the beautiful nature of California


California Nature:  Algae


Unlike land plants, marine algae lack true roots, stems, leaves, and flowers.
Most possess a holdfast (a rootlike structure), a blade (leaflike structure), and many have a stipe or stemlike structure that connects the holdfast to the blade. The weight of algae is supported by water. Some marine algae also have pneumatocysts (gas-filled bladders) that float the blades close to the water's surface to maximize access to sunlight for photosynthesis.

Marine algae can range in size from microscopic phytoplankton (free-floating, single-celled algae) to 150 feet tall for giant kelp, which grows in coastal, underwater forests.

The three phyla of marine algae are mainly characterized by the dominant pigment coloring the plants, and includes brown algae, red algae, and green algae.
giant kelp is a type of brown algae The kelp forests off the coast of Monterey Bay depict a specialized ocean ecosystem. The brown algae kelp, makes the trees in this forest. Other organisms that live in the forest include sea cucumbers, otters, abalone, blue rock fish and sea urchins. Kelp grows fast and gets used in many products like toothpaste and pudding.

Kelp forests grow predominantly on the Pacific Coast, from Alaska and Canada to the waters of Baja California. Tiered like a terrestrial rainforest with a canopy and several layers below, the kelp forests of the eastern Pacific coast are dominated by two canopy-forming, brown macroalgae species, giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) and bull kelp (Nereocystis leutkeana).

Giant kelp, perhaps the most recognized species of brown macroalgae, forms the more southern kelp forests, from the southern Channel Islands, of California to northwestern Baja. Along the central California coast where the distribution of giant kelp and bull kelp overlap, giant kelp out competes bull kelp for light.
Kelp forests grow along rocky coastlines in depths of about 6 to 90 feet. Kelp favors nutrient-rich, cool waters that range in temperature from 42 to 72 Degrees F. These brown algae communities live in clear water conditions through which light penetrates easily.

A host of invertebrates, fish, marine mammals, and birds exist in kelp forest environs. From the holdfasts to the surface mats of kelp fronds, the array of habitats on the kelp itself may support thousands of invertebrate individuals, including polychaetes, amphipods, decapods, and ophiuroids.

California sea lions, harbor seals, sea otters, and whales may feed in the kelp or escape storms or predators in the shelter of kelp. On rare occasions gray whales have been spotted seeking refuge in kelp forests from predatory killer whales. All larger marine life, including birds and mammals, may retreat to kelp during storms or high-energy regimes because the kelp helps to weaken currents and waves.
green algae can be seen growing on rocks and shells The "green algae" is the most diverse group of algae, with more than 7000 species growing in a variety of habitats.  Like the plants, the green algae contain two forms of chlorophyll, which they use to capture light energy to fuel the manufacture of sugars, but unlike plants they are primarily aquatic.

Because they are aquatic and manufacture their own food, these organisms are called "algae," along with certain members of the Chromista, the red algae, and photosynthetic bacteria, even though they do not share a close relationship with any of these groups.

Green algae is found in temperate and tropical waters. In the tropics, they are found in all zones of coral reefs. They have similar characteristics of plants and certain types are referred to as sea lettuce (Ulva). They are often found attached to rocks, on sand, and animals and other plants. They are often seen in tide pools at low tide.
Red algae consists of approximately 5,000 species of marine algae mainly found in tropical and subtropical waters. They range from microscopic to macroscopic in size.

Red algae are characterized by reddish pigments (phycoerythrin). They usually grow attached to rocks or other algae, but they are a few that are unicellular or colonial. Red Algae are very high in vitamins and proteins and are relatively simple to cultivate which are the main reasons it is a popular food source in Asian cuisine.

Marine algae, as primary producers, are ecologically important, and economically have been used as food and medicines for centuries. Today, various species of marine algae provide not only food but also produce extracts such as agar, carrageenans, and alginates. These extracts are used in numerous food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and industrial applications.
Marine Algae      Seagrass      Coral
 
 
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