1. Marine Plants Producers
Chapter 14

2. 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)

4. Plant cell specialization and tissues

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

9. 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

10. http://www. scottcamazine

11. 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

13. Primary Production

14. 10-2
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).
Productivity varies greatly in different parts of the ocean in response to the availability of nutrients and sunlight.

15. 10-3
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.
In the open ocean productivity distribution resembles a “bull’s 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.

16. 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

20. Seaweeds Multicellular algae Parts:
Blade – absorbs nutrients, does photosynthesis
Stipe – provides support
Air bladders – keep blades afloat
Holdfast – anchors seaweed to surface

22. Types of Seaweed Three major groups: Chlorophytes – green algae
Phaeophytes – brown algae
Rhodophytes – red algae

23. 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

24. 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?

25. 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

26. 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

27. terra.dadeschools.net

28. 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?
Dehydration from high salinities
Gas exchange
Current resistance
Reproduction

29. 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

30. Juncus roemerianus
“Black needlerush”
Marsh Plants – tolerant to fluctuations in salinity and water availability due to tides.
Spartina alterniflora “Smooth Cordgrass”

31. Marsh plants Salicornia fruiticosa “pickle weed” Limonium carolinianum
“Sea lavender”
badgerbushcraft.com

32. Sea Grasses Grow totally submerged in saltwater
Reproduce asexually and sexually with flowers and current dispersed pollen
Require shallow, clear water
conservationmagazine.org

33. Turtle grass (Thalassia testudinum)
Shoal grass (Halodule wrightii)
Manatee grass (Syringodium filiforme)

34. 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
images/mangrove-2.jpg

36. 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

37. 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

38. 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.