OCEA 2000X Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Macrocystis Pyrifera, Urchin Barren, Coralline Algae
31 Aug 2016
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Document Summary
To be productive, primary producers require ample light and nutrients. Three main productive sublittoral environments have different strategies to assure availability of light and nutrients: Based on the pigments (in chloroplasts) used for photosynthesis. Often early successional species, often in high intertidal. Some green algae grow in deep, clear waters. Include the kelps, the largest algae in the world! (up to 30-40 m) Macroalgae acquire nutrients from the surrounding water and must be relatively close to the surface to get enough light. Brown algae anchor themselves to the bottom with a holdfast. Brown algae must maintain their blades in suspension in order to receive light and obtain nutrients. Floats = pneumatocysts keeps the kelp blades in suspension. Kelp beds and forests are common in temperate to subpolar subtidal zones. Because of the need for dissolved nutrients, kelps inhabit relatively cool, wave-stirred coasts or coasts with upwelling.
