What is Algae?

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Algae

        Under the sun, there is a simple water plant known as algae.  It is photosynthetic; using the energy of the sun to change carbon dioxide and water into food and oxygen.  Algae cells are eukaryotic and their cell walls are made up of cellulose.  From oceans to backward ponds, there exist members of Chlorophyta, Rhodophyta, and Phaeophyta, producers that form the base of the marine food pyramid.

        The habitat of a certain algae is determined by its structure, and ability to survive in varying environments.  Because Algae have neither a vascular system, nor an advanced and efficient intercellular conduction system, most live where their needed raw material is most abundant, in the water.  Living in the water provides algae with many advantages over living on land.  They do not need to worry about lack of water for photosynthesis, they can use water to aid reproduction, they do not undergo violent temperature variation, and water provides buoyancy against gravity.  On land, algae live close to the ground because of their lack of a vascular system, and in moist environments to obtain a maximum supply of water.  Fucus is an example of algae that lives in inter-tidal marine environments.  It differs from both land and water algae in that it is thicker in size than marine algae but does not need to grow against the ground.  There are algae that live in standing fresh water, others that live in moving fresh water and even some that live in both.  Algae that live in standing water such as the Chlamydomonas can swim with flagella or other transportation methods.  Algae that live in running fresh water such as the Ulothrix, that can undergo fragmentation, utilize the current or waves for reproduction help.  

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        Algae range from unicellular organisms, such as the Chlamydomonas, to multicellular organisms, such as the Fucus and Ulva, and in the grey area we can find colonial organisms such as the Volvox.  Unicellular organisms do not have division of labour since there is only one type of cell that can be both a reproduction cell and a vegetative cell.  On the other end of the spectrum, multicellular organisms, such as the Fucus, have multiple types of cells such as vegetative cells, reproduction cells, and holdfast cells.  These cells all have specific functions and together form the multicellular organism.  Colonial ...

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