Algae: Classification, Types, Benifits, and Facts

Facts About Algae: The kingdom Protista contains a variety of eukaryotic, photosynthetic living forms known as algae. These species can be found in ponds, brackish waterways, snow, rivers, lakes, and seas. Algae are often green but can also come in several other colors. Algae are classified as Thallophytes because they are unicellular or multicellular creatures without a clearly defined body structure.

Evolution of life on Earth

Classification of Algae

Evolutionary Biology

Types of Algae

Green Algae

• Green algae are primary producers and have a similar environmental impact as rainforests. Some characteristics include
• Like terrestrial plants, they use the same colors and produce carbohydrates during photosynthesis.
• Most are aquatic but also found in soils, tree bark, snow, and symbiotic interactions with various creatures, including fungi and mammals.
• Green algae cells have Golgi bodies, vacuoles, mitochondria, membrane-bound nuclei carrying genomic DNA, and plastids, much like vascular plant cells.

Evidence Of Evolution

Brown Algae

• All freshwater brown algae species are benthic, inhabiting various streams, rivers, and lake-littoral zones.
• Most of the filamentous or thalloid algae that make up the brown algae are marine.
• Fucoxanthin, a dominant xanthophyll pigment that hides the appearance of the other pigments, gives these algae their characteristic brown color.
• The simplest known plant form is a branching, filamentous thallus; no recognised unicellular or colonial counterparts currently exist.

Entomology

Red Algae

• Most red algae are found in maritime habitats. Only a small number of taxa (around 200 species globally) are found in inland environments, and they are usually dispersed, adhering to rocks.
• The pigments phycoerythrin and phycocyanin cause the algae's red color.
• Many red algae are consumed; dulse ( Palmaria palmata ) and carrageen moss ( Chondrus crispus ) are the two most well-known.

Environmental Issues and Solutions

Benefits of Algae

• Blue-green algae has been used to cure oral precancerous growths, enhance cognition, and enhance intestinal health in general.
• Brown algae have been used to treat many major medical illnesses, including heart disease, high cholesterol, cancer, fibromyalgia, arthritis, stress, etc.
• In addition to being rich in nutrients, the blue-green version is a potent energy enhancer. It is used to treat premenstrual syndrome, hay fever, diabetes, stress, exhaustion, anxiety, and depression organically.
• Due to sulfated polysaccharides, red sea algae promotes a robust immune system and consistent immunological response.

Essential Mineral Elements

Facts About Algae

• Like all other green plants in the Kingdom Plantae, algae produce their food through photosynthesis, and have chlorophyll pigments in their cells.
• In addition to the helpful algal species, certain algae might harm other living things. These algae frequently multiply and thrive in some bodies of water, resulting in algal blooms that harm fish and other aquatic life.
• Algae create more than 71% of the oxygen on Earth, even though the seas make up around 71% of the planet's surface. Some experts think algal production accounts for 87% of the world's oxygen.
• Algae are also utilised in several wastewater treatment facilities, raising oxygen levels in the water bodies while lowering carbon dioxide emissions and other pollutants. Algae are also utilised in power plants to lower carbon dioxide emissions and are being used to treat wastewater instead of harsh chemicals.
• Algae come in various colors and shapes, with hundreds of distinct species. These eukaryotic, photosynthetic creatures, including seas, extremely cold climates, snowy terrain, and ice crystals, are found worldwide.
• Some types of algae, including dinoflagellates, emit bioluminescence that is readily visible at night. Without a separate light source, the light emitted is sufficient for reading newspapers.
• In many regions of Asia, algae represent a significant food source and are incredibly rich in vitamins and minerals.
• From algae, all plants descended. Without vegetation to consume, fish would never have transitioned into terrestrial creatures like humans.
• Agar is a hydrocolloid made from algae that cover the bottom of Petri dishes and is an important component of research and medicine.
• Some interesting numbers
• The average American consumes 250 milligrams of carrageenans, an extract of red algae, every day, frequently in dairy products
• The biggest algae, kelp, may grow to a maximum length of 200 feet.
• Algae are 50 times more productive as a biofuel than conventional crops:
• There are 720,000 shimmering algae in a gallon of water from Puerto Rico's bioluminescent bays.
• An algal bloom requires 15,000 medium-sized to giant algal cells per milliliter of water.
• The dead zone of the Mississippi River, measured in square miles, is 8500, where algal death  has reduced oxygen.
• One cell makes up the most primitive algae.

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