Life on earth is not possible without Algae. This is because Algae, in the process of growing by photosynthesis like Plants, consumes whopping fifty percent of Carbon di oxide and releases Oxygen.
Basic features of Algae
The Algae neither belong to Plant kingdom nor the Animal kingdom. They have hybrid features. Like plants, Algae are eukaryotic organisms that contain chloroplasts and are capable of photosynthesis. Like animals, some algae possess flagella, centrioles, and are capable of feeding on organic material in their habitat.
Types of Algae
There are several types of Algae with different hues apart from the most prominent green mass.
1. Euglenoids
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2. Chrysophyta
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3. Pyrrophyta
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The Pyrrophyta are the fire algae. These also occur in marine waters and store energy as starch.
Some species of fire algae can temporarily achieve a great abundance, as events that are commonly known as "red tides" because of the resulting color of the water. Red tides can be toxic to marine animals.
4. Chlorophyta
These are most commonly seen green algae. Most green algae are microscopic, but a few species, such as those in the genus Cladophora, are multicellular and macroscopic.
5. Rhodophyta
Also known as red algae, the larger species of this kind typically grow attached to a hard substrate, or they occur as epiphytes on other algae.
The cell walls of red algae are constructed of cellulose and polysaccharides, such as agar and carrageenin. They store energy as a specialized polysaccharide known as floridean starch.
6. Paeophyta
The Paeophyta are also known as brown algae. These seaweeds are especially abundant in cool waters. These have more sophisticated structure than other types of Algae.
After the mass extinction of all animal and plant life, let us name it year zero, it is interesting how life has evolved to the present level. If you consider the present day as Millionth year, our great great… grandfather who lived at year zero is ‘Fern’- close cousin of algae.
It took two lakh years for the Fern age to develop into next level ‘Palm tree world’. After another six thousand years the so called ‘Legume world’ with Plants having roots, leaves, flowers and fruits came to life.
During the Fern age, all the animal life was in the form of few furry rat-like creatures. This went on for about thousand years during which time the mammals have little nutrition to feed on and grow. As Fern world turned to Palm world and then to Legume world, mammals could get more and more nutrition and grew in size from half a kilo gram to fifty.
After going through five stages over a period of seven million years humans developed into present form.
That was the story of recovery of life on Earth after the devastation caused by an asteroid hit caused by nature. A million years have taken to recover animal life.
Here is the lesson for you and me and the humans living at this moment on this wonderful Planet.
4. Chlorophyta
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5. Rhodophyta
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The cell walls of red algae are constructed of cellulose and polysaccharides, such as agar and carrageenin. They store energy as a specialized polysaccharide known as floridean starch.
6. Paeophyta
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They have differentiated tissues, including an anchoring organ, air pockets for buoyancy, a stalk, photosynthetic organs, and reproductive tissues that produce spores and gametes.
7. Xanthophyta
7. Xanthophyta
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| Source: ThoughtCo |
Also known as yellow-green algae, these are unicellular organisms with least complicated structure. Their cell walls made of cellulose and silica, and they contain one or two flagella for motion.
Their chloroplasts lack a certain pigment, which causes them to appear lighter in color. They usually form in small colonies of only a few cells.
Their chloroplasts lack a certain pigment, which causes them to appear lighter in color. They usually form in small colonies of only a few cells.
Algae Through Years of Evolution When an asteroid - a heavenly body as big as 10 Kilometers across hit the earth some sixty million years ago and wiped off 75 percent of the living organism in water and land strolled by Dinosaurs, it was Algae which provided the food for the sea dwelling creatures that escaped death.
After the mass extinction of all animal and plant life, let us name it year zero, it is interesting how life has evolved to the present level. If you consider the present day as Millionth year, our great great… grandfather who lived at year zero is ‘Fern’- close cousin of algae.
It took two lakh years for the Fern age to develop into next level ‘Palm tree world’. After another six thousand years the so called ‘Legume world’ with Plants having roots, leaves, flowers and fruits came to life.
During the Fern age, all the animal life was in the form of few furry rat-like creatures. This went on for about thousand years during which time the mammals have little nutrition to feed on and grow. As Fern world turned to Palm world and then to Legume world, mammals could get more and more nutrition and grew in size from half a kilo gram to fifty.
After going through five stages over a period of seven million years humans developed into present form.
That was the story of recovery of life on Earth after the devastation caused by an asteroid hit caused by nature. A million years have taken to recover animal life.
Here is the lesson for you and me and the humans living at this moment on this wonderful Planet.
Just in case of human triggered extinction by way of nuclear bombs which are capable of destroying all life several times, or losing of nature’s balance due to man’s selfish creation of plastic waste, destruction of forests and hills, poaching of wild life, creating of all sorts of pollution, the consequences are unimaginable.
What if it culminates in mass extinction, just think how many million years it would take to get to the present state of life on Earth.
So, do respect seemingly insignificant and menacing looking poor Algae for it’s role in the making of you today. Do respect the Creation and the Creator!
Written By: Saija Bhumireddy
Edited By: Anusha Vajha
What if it culminates in mass extinction, just think how many million years it would take to get to the present state of life on Earth.
So, do respect seemingly insignificant and menacing looking poor Algae for it’s role in the making of you today. Do respect the Creation and the Creator!
Written By: Saija Bhumireddy
Edited By: Anusha Vajha
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