What is algae?
Algae are a large and diverse group of eukaryotic (complex-celled) photosynthetic organisms. The green algae are primitive members of kingdom Plantae, though other types of algae are outside the kingdom entirely. Land plants evolved from green algae about 500 million years ago. The algae are a paraphyletic group, meaning they did not descend from a common ancestor. Algal groups have independently evolved several times in life on Earth, representing a beneficial strategy adopted by parallel evolutionary paths. Red algae, a primitive form, were among the first eukaryotic organisms on the planet, and their signatures have been found in rocks 1.2 billion years old, but they are likely older. All forms of algae evolved from cyanobacteria, photosynthetic bacteria that were among the first life forms on the planet. It took several billion years for bacteria to evolve into eukaryotic organisms, which are the ancestors of all living plants and animals. Cyanobacteria is called “blue-green algae”
Algae are plantlike protists found in the Kingdom Protista. Protists are eukaryotic, unicellular or multicellular organisms. Like plants, algae have chloroplasts, and their cells are strengthened by the cell wall. Algae refer to aquatic organisms that carry on photosynthesis. Algae are part of a fresh water’s phytoplankton (phyton=plant and planktos=wandering), which produce energy that maintains an entire community of organisms. Not only do algae provide food, but they also play a key role in the stream ecosystem because they produce oxygen. It has been customary to classify algae according to their color, which come in a variety of color such as green Chlorophyta, brown Phaeaphyta, golden brown Chrysphyta, and red Rhodophyta. All algae do contain at least one type of chlorophyll, but they also contain other types of pigments, which mask the color of the chlorophyll. Green algae are the most plantlike of the all the algae. Green algae are believed to be closely related to the first pl
Algae is one of the most persistent forms of plant life. Algae common to pools include green, yellow, black or pink slime. It can be free floating in the water or it can cling to walls, floor and equipment. Nourished by sunlight and heat, algae thrives in water with a high pH level and water with a high nitrogen or phosphate level.
