Obj. 8: Describe characteristics of marine plant and algae divisions Marine Flowering Plants

I. Marine Plants Have a vascular system for transporting food, nutrients, and water through out the plant All are flowering plants 3 types Seagrasses Salt marsh plants mangroves

II. Seagrasses Aren’t really grasses Related to lillies All submerged (completely underwater) Structure Horizontal stems (rhizomes) that grow beneath the sediment Roots and stems grow from the rhizomes Leaves are called blades

Reproduction Separate male and female plants and flowers Very small flowers (not used to attract pollinators) Pollen is carried on the water currents Produce seed some with small fruit that are transported on the water currents

Not a major producer in the oceans because they are hard for most marine organisms to digest Eaten by manatees, green sea turtles, and some fish and sea urchins

Important Habitat - acts as protection for many small animals. Genera common to the gulf coast are Zostera (eelgrass) and Thallasia (turtle grass)

III. Salt Marsh Plants Are halophytes (salt-tolerant, terrestrial plants) Members of the grass familiy Must be exposed to air at low tide so they are restricted to the intertidal zone (zone that is uncovered at low tide)

Structure Have rhizomes and short vertical stems Leaves are called blades have salt glands to excrete excess salt

Important Habitat Know as the “nurseries of the oceans” Feed and protect many of the commercially important species at some point in their life

Common species in S. Alabama Spartina alterniflora (cordgrass) Juncus (blackneedle rush)

IV. Mangroves Along tropical coastal areas with little wave action Trees and shrubs

Structure Simple, oval, leathery, thick leaves are adapted to reduce water loss Leaves never under water Complex root systems that are adapted to grow in loose, shallow, low oxygen, saline sediments Many have roots that descend from the trunk or branches of the tree to the sediment Most salt is prevented to entering the tree at the roots

Reproduction Flowers are pollinated by the wind or bees Mangroves along the shore develop the embryo attached to the parent plant The embryo is called a propagule It grows an enlongated, cigar-shaped stem before it separates from the parent plant and floats away