• TYPES OF LIVING (plants and animals)
• Sessile (benthos) – attached to one place, usually
benthic – bottom dwelling organisms
• Many are suspension feeders
• Pelagic – live up in the water column , away from
the bottom.
• Planktonic – Drifting and floating organisms that
move with wind and currents. Many
•
organisms have a stage in their life cycle that
is planktonic. Phytoplankton, zooplankton
• Nekton – swimming forms, include fish
Division Phaeophyta - Brown Algae
Algae
• Division Phaeophyta – browns
• Location –mostly marine, largest and most structurally
complex, therefore found in temperate areas mainly
and areas with high nutrients. Kelps are the large
brown algae, usually subtidal.
• Pigments – olive green to brown color comes from
fucoxanthin, a yellow pigment. Chlorophyll a & c
• Form– Diverse in form and structure, the browns
contain the largest individuals.
Kelps – are a group of large brown algae, usually subtidal,
make "forests"
•
Habitat – intertidal to mid–subtidal
•
Heavily used for commercial purposes
Division Phaeophyta - Brown Algae
Macrocystis pyrifera
Cystoceira osmundacea
Giant Kelp
Chainbladder kelp
Laminariales
Macrocystis life cycle
1
Division Rhodophyta - Red Algae
Algae
• Division Rhodophyta – red algae
• Location – mostly marine, most abundant in species
• Pigments – chl a and d, phycobilins, a wide variety of
carotenoids
• Form – ranges from thin film, to upright, foliose. Some
forms secrete CaCO3 in the skeleton – tropical
• Habitat – intertidal to deepest subtidal (to 250m)
Gigartina corymbifera
Turkish towel
Algae
• Division Chlorophyta – greens
• Location – mainly fresh water
• Pigments – chl a and b, same as terrestrial plants.
Chlorophyll not masked my other
pigments and therefore bright "grass" green.
• Form (marine) – filamentous or sheet–like
• Habitat – upper portion of the photic zone, intertidal
mainly. Some are associated with eutrophic areas (rich
in nutrients)
Sea grasses
•
•
•
•
•
Division Anthophyta – flowering plants or "higher" plants, seagrasses
only marine plant. Dune plants that are adapted to high salt
environments are also in this category.
Location – mainly terrestrial, shallow marine – mud and rock substrate
Pigments – chl a and b, same as for terrestrial plants
Form – have true roots, stems, and leaves. Tissue is present to carry
water, nutrients, and food manufactured by photosynthesis.
Habitat – most in nearshore "meadows" on rock or muddy
substrate, usually calmer waters in bays, estuaries. Temperate and
tropical
Angiosperms - Graminae
Phyllospadix sp.
Surf Grass
2