Primary Producers

1. Primary Producers

2. Photosynthesis vs. Respiration • Photosynthesis • Occurs in chloroplasts • Solar energy captured by chlorophyll • Oxygen by-product Sunlight + CO2 + H2O ----> O2 + Sugars • Respiration • Occurs in mitochondria • Release of energy from breaking down sugars • Carried out by both autotrophs and heterotrophs Sugars + O2 ----> CO2 + H2O + chemical energy http://www.cellsalive.com/cells/plntcell_archive.htm

3. Phytoplankton Phyto (plant) planktos (wandering) Microscopic plants that live in the ocean • Over 10,000 species of phytoplankton • Foundation of the marine food chain • 2/3 of all the photosynthesis that takes place is in the oceans

4. Phytoplankton • Cyanobacteria • Diatoms • Dinoflagellates • Protozoa • Algae • Flowering Plants • Sea grasses • Mangroves

5. Cyanobacteria • Blue-green bacteria • Cyanobacteria can be found in almost every terrestrial and aquatic habitat: in oceans, fresh water • even bare rock and soil.

6. Diatoms • Marine producers • Are unicellular • Enclosed by cell walls made largely of silica • Aggregate into chains or star-like groups

7. Dinoflagellates • Have a flagella to swim • A bit larger than diatoms • Some are bioluminescent- ability to emit light (glow) • 90% live of dinoflagellates live in the ocean

8. Protozoa • Animal-like protists • Have chloroplasts • Autotrophic & Heterotrophic • Ex. Euglena, Volvox

9. Algae • Simple aquatic organisms • Eukaryotic • Photosynthetic

10. Popular name- seaweed • Multicellular • Eukaryotic • Lots of variation in structure and appearance • Three types of seaweed • Green algae • Brown algae • Red algae

11. Marine Flowering Plants • Kingdom Plantae • Angiosperms: aka flowering plants • Dominant land plants • Few species live in marine environments • Have true roots, stems, and leaves • All have flower as dominant reproductive organ

12. Seagrasses • Resemble grasses, but are not grasses at all • Pollen for reproduction is carried by water currents • Eelgrass • 50-60 species • Found in shallow coastal waters • Have ribbon-like leaves • Common in oxygen poor sediments

13. Turtlegrass Eelgrass

14. Salt-Marsh Plants • Cordgrasses • Live on land, but are salt tolerant • Not completely submerged • Become submerged during high tidal periods

15. Mangroves • Trees and shrubs living on tropical shores • Land plants that tolerate salt • Grow in mud bottom estuaries, and coastal lagoons • Arched roots trap sediment and cause more land to build up expanding the colony toward the sea

16. Red Mangrove

17. Seaweed

18. General Structure • No true leaves, stems, or roots • Thallus- Body structure • Blades- leaf like structure • Main photosynthetic regions • Pneumatocysts • Gas filled bladders which help keep blades near sea surface maximizing exposure to sun • Stipe • Stem-like structure which provides support • Holdfast • Root-like structure which attaches thallus to the bottom • Do not penetrate through the sand or mud • Do not play a significant role in absorption of water and nutrients

19. Macroalgae Structure

20. Chlorophyta- Green algae • Occur in both Freshwater and Marine environments • Bright green in color because chlorophyll is not masked by other pigments • Ulva- Sea lettuce • Codium fragile- Dead man’s fingers • Over 8,000 species • 90% are freshwater / 10% saltwater

21. Genus Ulva- Sea Lettuce Kingdom: ProtistaPhylum: ChlorophytaClass: UlvophyceaeOrder: UlvalesFamily: UlvaceaeGenus: UlvaSpecies: Lactuca Ulva Lactuca

22. Codium fragile- Dead man’s fingers Kingdom: Protista Division: ChlorophytaClass: BryopsidophyceaeOrder: CodialesFamily: CodiaceaeGenus: Codium species: fragile

23. Phaeophyta- Brown Algae • 1500 species • Predominantly marine • Range in color from olive to dark • Common in rocky shores • Brown due to yellow-brown pigments • Fucoxanthin • Pigment in brown algae that dominates over chlorophyll

24. Phaeophyta • Rockweeds and Kelps • Kelp forests play an important role in marine ecology by providing food and shelter for marine organisms • Some species grow very large • Nereocystis- Bull Kelp’s stipe can be up to 30 meters long • Macrocystis- Stipes can be up to 100 meters long • These giant kelp are estimated to grow 50cm per day!!!!

25. Phaeophyta Kelp Forest Temperate Rain Forest

26. Rhodophyta: Red Algae • More species than of other two types • 4,000 species • Only a few fresh water species • Red pigments: phycobilins • These pigments mask chlorophyll • Common in rocky shorelines • Coralline Algae • These species deposit calcium carbonate within their cell walls • Are actively involved in the formation of coral reefs

27. Rhodophyta

28. Reproduction In Algae • Asexual reproduction is common • Vegetative reproduction • Fragments of thallus can grow into new organisms • Some reproduce by spores which disperse to new locations • Sexual reproduction • Production of gametes • Spores and Gametes are produced by meiosis

29. Economic Importance • Used as a food sources in China, Japan, and Korea • Used as fertilizers, and in animal feeds • Phycocolloids are used in food processing for their ability to form viscous suspensions • Algin- a phycocolloid that is used in ice cream, cheese, and baked goods. Also used in shampoos, paints, and cosmetics • Carrageenan- used as an emulsifier. Gives body to dairy products and pudding • Agar- Used to form jellies as a thickening agent. Also used as a medium to grow bacteria and molds.