Marine Plants Producers

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Marine Plants Producers

• Chapter 14

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Marine Plants

• Most photosynthetic marine organisms are members
  of kingdom Protista not kingdom Plantae.
• Protists do not have specialized tissues and
  organs.
• Plants do have specialized tissues (ex vascular
  and dermal tissues)

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http//www.algaeindustrymagazine.com/part-six-alga
l-classification/
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Plant cell specialization and tissues
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Features Plants Share with Green Algae

• Pigments Chlorophyll a b carotenoids
• Food Reserve Starch
• Cell Walls Cellulose
• Cell Division Cell Plate
• Body Structure Multicellular
• Life Cycle Heteromorphic Alternation of
  Generation
• Sexual Reproduction Oogamy

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Phytoplankton

• Plant-like protists
• Usually single celled (unicellular algae)
• Perform nearly all of the photosynthesis in the
  oceans (more than seaweeds, algae, etc.)
• Produce half the O2 in the atmosphere
• Examples diatoms and dinoflagellates

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Diatoms

• Unicellular phytoplankton, enclosed in a shell
  made of silica (SiO2)
• Glassy shell is called a frustule
• Frustule is made of two halves that fit tightly
  together like a box
• Frustule is clear so light can penetrate for
  photosynthesis

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http//www.bhikku.net/archives/03/img/diatoms.JPG
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Dinoflagellates

• Unicellular autotrophs, have two flagella
• One flagella acts as a tail, the other wraps
  around the body for steering
• Cell is surrounded by a cell wall made of plates
  of cellulose (theca plates)
• Plates may have spines or other ornaments

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http//www.scottcamazine.com/personal/selforganiza
tion/haeckel/images/dinoflagellates_jpg.jpg
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Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB)

• Rapid growth and bloom of dinoflagellates or
  diatoms
• Often referred to as a red tide
• This is incorrect
• May not be red or any color at all has nothing
  to do with tides
• Can be toxic and cause fish kills
• Shellfish store the toxin and can then pass it on
  to humans
• Red tides may be caused by increased nutrient
  input
• Can lead to Eutrophication
• Bacteria feed on dead algae
• Bacteria consume all the Oxygen, making the water
  hypoxic/anoxic
• Anoxic/hypoxic conditions kills all other animal
  life

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Primary Production
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Primary production is the total amount of carbon
(C) in grams converted into organic material per
square meter of sea surface per year (gm C/m2/yr).
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Productivity varies greatly in different parts of
the ocean in response to the availability of
nutrients and sunlight.
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Primary productivity varies from 25 to 1250 gm
C/m2/yr in the marine environment and is highest
in estuaries and lowest in the open ocean.
10-3

• In the open ocean productivity distribution
  resembles a bulls eye pattern with lowest
  productivity in the center and highest at the
  edge of the basin.
• Continental shelves display moderate productivity
  between 50 and 200 gm C/m2/yr because nutrients
  wash in from the land and tide- and wave-
  generated turbulence recycle nutrients from the
  bottom water.

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• In the tropics and subtropics sunlight is
  abundant, but it generates a strong thermocline
  that restricts upwelling of nutrients and results
  in lower productivity.
• High productivity locally can occur in areas of
  coastal upwelling, in the tropical waters between
  the gyres and at coral reefs.
• In temperate regions productivity is distinctly
  seasonal.
• Polar waters are nutrient-rich all year but
  productivity is only high in the summer when
  light is abundant.

10-2
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Seaweeds

• Multicellular algae
• Parts
• Blade absorbs nutrients, does photosynthesis
• Stipe provides support
• Air bladders keep blades afloat
• Holdfast anchors seaweed to surface

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Types of Seaweed

• Three major groups
• Chlorophytes green algae
• Phaeophytes brown algae
• Rhodophytes red algae

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• Chlorophytes green algae
• May be unicellular or multicellular
• Thought to be direct ancestors of higher plants
• Ulva make use of sewage outfalls
• Phaeophytes-brown algae
• Multicellular
• Include kelp largest algae
• Can grow 50cm a day, reach lengths of 60m
• Rhodophytes-red algae
• High commercial value
• Can thrive in dim light

http//marinelife.about.com/od/plants/tp/typesofal
gae.htm
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All true plants are autotrophic and photosynthetic

• Plants In Aquatic Habitat
• All Cells Surrounded or Close to Water
• Dissolved Minerals
• Dissolved CO2 and O2
• Water Supports Weight of the Plant
• Unicellular Reproductive Structures
• Motile Gametes
• All Cells Photosynthetic
• What had to happen for plants to colonize land?

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Evolutionary steps for the colonization of land

• How to disperse gametes in drier environment
• pollen or spores
• How to protect embryos from drying out
• seeds

geo.arizona.edu
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Evolutionary steps for the colonization of land

• How to take up water and nutrients from below
  ground
• roots
• How to take up CO2 from the air
• stoma
• How to transport water and nutrients long
  distances
• Zylem and phloem

school.net.th
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terra.dadeschools.net
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Recolonization of aquatic environments by plants

• Terrestrial plants evolved from aquatic green
  algae.
• Some terrestrial plants have returned to the
  water.
• True aquatic plants retain many of those
  terrestrial plant characteristics.
• What challenges might there be in recolonizing
  saltwater environments?

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Kingdom Plantae Angiosperms flowering plants

• Halophytes Plants that grow in saline
  environments
• Halophytes generally
• Have roots that extract nutrients
• High salt tolerance
• Actively excretes salt through salt glands on
  epidermis
• Grow along estuaries and salt marshes, shallow
  marine environments, or desert soils with high
  salt content

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Marsh Plants tolerant to fluctuations in
salinity and water availability due to tides.
Juncus roemerianus Black needlerush
http//www.flickr.com/photos/94388891_at_N00/89371084
/
Spartina alterniflora Smooth Cordgrass
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Marsh plants
Salicornia fruiticosa pickle weed
Limonium carolinianum Sea lavender
badgerbushcraft.com
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Sea Grasses

• Grow totally submerged in saltwater
• Reproduce asexually and sexually with flowers and
  current dispersed pollen
• Require shallow, clear water

conservationmagazine.org
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• Turtle grass (Thalassia testudinum)
• Shoal grass (Halodule wrightii)
• Manatee grass (Syringodium filiforme)

http//www.floridadep.org/coastal/habitats/seagras
s/
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Mangroves
Mangrove Tree

• Saltwater swamps inhabited by large flowering
  trees
• Grow in tropical regions in bays and lagoons
• Thick roots that prop the trees up

http//www.jpbutler.com/thailand/ images/mangrove-
2.jpg
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http//marinebio.org/oceans/estuaries-salt-marshes
-mangroves.asp
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Economic Importance

• Extracts from Seaweeds are used in many products
• Algin
• As a stabilizer and emulsifier in dairy products
• As a thickener in shampoo, shaving cream,
  pesticides, plastics

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• Carrageenan
• As an emulsifier in dairy products and processed
  foods
• Agar
• Forms a jelly
• Used to protect canned meats
• Used in laxatives
• Medium for growing bacteria

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Biodiesel

• Diesel fuel made from natural, renewable sources.
• As part of the photosynthesis process algae
  produce oil and can generate 15 times more oil
  per acre than other plants used for biofuels,
  such as corn and switchgrass.
• Algae can grow in salt water, freshwater or even
  contaminated water, at sea or in ponds, and on
  land not suitable for food production.

http//www.virginia.edu/uvatoday/newsRelease.php?i
d5985
http//www.biodiesel.org/
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