Homework-Answer this question and email it to
Hw 6..1. Only a very few flowering plants have been able to
invade the oceans. But the few marine ones are very successful. What are some
reasons for the small number of marine flowering plants? How do those that have
taken the step manage to thrive in the environment?
Why a Scientific Classification System?
Ambiguity of terms
Latin “dead language”
Categorization of relationships:
7 Classification Groups:
Kingdom (most inclusive)
Species (most specific)
5 Major Kingdoms:
1 cell, prokaryotes
1 cell, eukaryotes
Which is the most difficult to assign?
Which group has the largest # organisms?
Have evolved over
centuries in a multitude of languages
Sometimes used only
in a limited
One plant may be known by several names in different
regions, and the same name may be used for several different plants…
Similar plant species form a group called a
genus (plural: genera)…
Genera are grouped into families…
Families into orders, classes, divisions and
“King David Came Over For Great Spaghetti”
“King David Conquered Our Fifty Great States”
species has a single correct scientific name in Latin called a binomial (two
names) – it is always italicized or underlined.
name is genus name.
name is species name
Human: Homo sapiens
Canis familiaris Wolf: Canis lupus
of maple trees is Acer
has many species including:
Common name Scientific name
that have many characteristics in common are grouped into a genus.
genera that share combinations of traits are grouped into families.
are grouped into orders.
into divisions (or phyla for animals)
divisions/phyla are grouped into kingdoms
(e.g. house, street, city, county, state, country, continent,
What is a species?
Species: a set of individuals that are closely related by descent from a common
ancestor and ordinarily can reproduce with each other, but not with members of
any other species.
Biological species: group of interbreeding populations. Offspring are
Some members of same species look very
Definition of species
Or, plants look
the same, but due to
(more than the diploid number of chromosomes), they cannot interbreed.
For example: Ferns; evening primrose
– Carl von Linne
(doctor and botanist)
born in 1707.
Called the “Father
of Systematic Botany”
system of nomenclature
His binomial system of
nomenclature, in which the genus and species names are used.
He classified 12,000 plants and animals, and
many of the names he first proposed are still in use today…
Hypoglossum subslmplex Wynne sp. nov.
Fasciculus lamina rum
simplicium aut subsimplicium erectarum delicatarum e base disciformi orientium; ranNflcatio tantum ad unum ordinem; laminae tantum usque 6 mm altae; margins laminae laeves; costa corticata
destituta; omnes cellulae serierum cellularum secundi ordinis series cellularum tertii ordinis procreant; tetrasporangia tantum in una lamina procreant, cellulis
ambo serierum secundi ordinis et tertii ordinis abscissa, vicina costa laminae, sic laterales cellulas pericentrales includentibus; sorus tetrasporangiorum non discretus in longitudino sed ad aliquot distanciam currens; sori spermatangiorum
plerumque in turmis diagonaliter aut irregulariter dispositi, parvi et sejuneti aut confluentes; uno aut duo cystocarpiae
in quoque femina lamina, in
Diagnosis: A cluster of simple or subsimple erect, delicate blades arising from a discoid
base; branching to one order only; blades only up to 6 mm tall; margins of blade
smooth; corticated midrib lacking; all second-order row cells producing thirdorder
rows; tetrasporangia produced in only the primary
layer, cut off by cells of both second- and third-order rows in vicinity of
midline of blade, thus including lateral pericentral
cells; tetrasporangial sorus
not discrete in length but running continuously for some distance; spermatangial sori arranged
usually in diagonal or irregular groups, small and isolated or becoming
confluent; I or 2 cystocarps per female blade, located
on the midline.
Holotype: Wynne 9959 (slide
in MICH), on Halimeda tuna, collected by M. D. Hanisak, 19 June 1994, Content Keys, lee side of Florida
Keys, Florida, U.S.A. Isotypes: slides
deposited in MEL, PC, UC, US.
Mammals arise from Theraapsids
Chimpanzees: distant relatives
Lemurs: distant relatives
The ruffed lemur lives in the eastern
rain forests of Madagascar. The lemurs and their relatives are believed to have
evolved in isolation from the monkeys and apes after Africa became separated
from Madagascar over 50 million years ago. Since the arrival of humans on
Madagascar over 2000 years ago, at least 14 species of lemurs are believed to
have become extinct.
n When Charles Darwin published The Descent of Man
in 1871, he challenged the fundamental beliefs of most people by asserting that
humans and apes had evolved from a common ancestor. Many critics of Darwin
misunderstood his theory to mean that people had descended directly from apes.
This caricature of Charles Darwin as an ape appeared in the London Sketch
Book in 1874.
Homologous or Analogous Stuctures?
Family or Genus Relations?
house cats,cheetahs, ocelots
Feline Family Members:
Classification by characteristics:
nMembers include seaweeds, sea grasses, mangroves, marsh grass,
nthey are eukaryotic
ncontain organelles enclosed by a membrane
nphotosynthesis takes place in chloroplasts--green,brown, or red organelles.
nlack flowers, roots stems and leaves.
nWhile most are referred to as plants, some have flagella and
show animal characteristics...and some are actually claimed by both botanists
and zoologists as theirs!
nTaxonomically, a compromise has placed them in the Kingdom Protista…the
nSeaweeds...dominant marine plants containing
chlorophyll and additional pigments from blue to red.
nSeaweeds are all eukaryotic and most are multicellular.
• MARINE PLANTS
nBut some that are unicellular or simple filaments are
considered seaweed because the classifications of seaweeds is based not only on
nbut also on other features such as types of
pigments and food storage products.
nClassification characteristics used to classify are;
1. form which
starch is stored
of cell wall
3. presence of
motile cells with flagella
4. level of
n5. sometimes, reproductive patterns
nRed Algae is Rhodophyta
nGreen Algae is Chlorophyta
nBrown Algae is Phaeophyta
nAlgae are Thallus, meaning
they lack true roots, stems, and leaves, fruits, connecting tissue etc.
nphotosynthesis occurs throughout the plant, not just
nParts: Holdfast, stipe, blade, air
nPhaeophyta..microscopic to 60' make up the largest and
structurally most complex.
nColors range from olive green to dark brown, due to yellow
pigments fucoxanthin dominance over chlorophyll.
nPigments are xanthophyll and carotene
nThe simplest brown algae have a finely filamentous thallus as in Ectocarpus.
nThere is the fan shaped Padina.
nMany species of brown alga are found in the intertidal zone and known as rockweeds and in deeper areas of the cool coastal zones are the kelps, the largest and most complex of
all brown algaes.
As mentioned before, kelp plays an important role in the
coastal production with many organisms finding homes around the kelp beds.
Some kelps consist of a single blade,
Laminaria, which are harvested for food.
Kelps have been estimated to grow up to 50 cm (20 inches) per
Alginic Acid, a gummy, slimy layer in cell wall,
is used as an emulsifying agent (algin)..(Know uses) (algae Readings)
Brown algae...Nereocystis (bull
kelp). The kelp is the sporophyte or diploid phase
1. certain areas of the fronds (sori) become darker
2. meiosis occurs and haploid zoo
spores are formed.
3. They settle to the bottom and grow into microscopic
4. The female produces eggs but holds them and the male
produces sperm which are released and
5. attracted to eggs, fertilize them and
6. zygotes are formed which germinate
into the sporophyte plant.
Kelp (how are chances for fertilization increased?) ....Fucus, another brown algae or rockweed, is again, like
animals where the
1. diploid plant forms gametes
2. fertilization occurs
3.the zygote immediately germinates back to
Gametes are produced in cavities called CONCEPTACLES.
more species of these than green and brown combined.
nIt has the highest commercial value, and don't get as large as
absence of flagellate stages
presence of other pigments mainly phycobilins
Floridean starch as food reserve (scattered throughout
Existence of special female cells (carpogonia)
and male gametes (called spermatia) for sexual
Cell walls with inner rigid component and
outer mucilage or slime layer. This is like the alginates and very valuable.
They can also deposit calcium carbonate (lime) into the
walls of some species (Coralline algae) (Coralline algae)
nThe structure of the thallus of red algae does not show the wide variation in
complexity and size that is observed in brown algae.
nMost reds are filamentous but thickness, width and arrangement
of the filaments vary a great deal.
nThere are many variations in the shapes, sizes and colors of
nOne important in marine environments are
the red alga Corallines.
nThese are characterized by deposits of calcium carbonate
around their cell walls.
nThese can be encrusting on the rocks or articulated, branching
plants, with colors from light to reddish pink-white when dead.
nWarm water corallines are active in reef development.
1. Sporophyte produces tetrasporangia (site of meiosis) which produce 4
2. Gametophytes grow from the spores and their gametes (spermatia and carpogonia) fuse and
3. are retained and develop into a
special mass of diploid cells (the carposporophyte)
4. which breaks up into many carpospores
5. these grow into a sporophyte generation which resembles the gametophyte
(isomorphic) and..(go to 1)
Red algae Porphyra or Nori is a valuable food source but has an atypical
life history with the gametophyte being the large leafy plant and the sporophyte being the tiny "conchocelis"
found living in discarded shells. The Typical red cycle is that of Polysiphonia.
CHLOROPHYTA. The great majority of green algae are
restricted to fresh water and terrestrial environments.
Only 10% are marine but they are dominant in environments with
wide variations in salinity such as bays and estuaries, tide pools (sewage
nThese are the stock from which land plants derived and in full
agreement in regards to pigment, starch, cellulose etc
nMay exist as single cells, simple or
branched filaments, blades, organized into tubes that are intertwined and
usually grass green in color.
nFew green algae are as complex as the other groups but their
pigments and food reserve are the same as in higher plants. (evolved
from green algae.)
nChlorophyll b in green and land but not
nThey are unicellular, filamentous multicellular,
shapes can vary in the same species according to their environment.
Enteromorpha is a thin hollow tube, Ulva, sea lettuce is leafy-like, Valonia,
forms huge spheres /clusters of them in tropical waters., some branch and Caulerpa and Cladophora have
tubes with many nuclei, spongy, branching thallus Codium and segmented with deposits of calcium carbonate in
their walls to ward off predators but
end up cementing the reef together in reef
areas...Halimeda... a Coralline green algae!
Life Histories of seaweeds involve an alternation of gamete
producing phase (gametophyte) and spore producing phase (sporophyte).
Green algae...Ulva (sea lettuce)
have two identical phases. 1. Sporophyte (diploid)
produces flagellated zoo spores (haploid) (meiosis) and these 2. swim briefly and settle on the bottom and 3. grow into a gametophyte phase (male or female) and produce
motile gametes which 4. fuse to form zygotes
Codium, another green
algae is more like animals and produces gametes by meiosis which fuse and form
a zygote and grows into the familiar plant.
Marine Angiosperms (flowering plants)...few occur in
the marine environment but those that do are usually very productive and
adapted for their lifestyle. Of the 3 groups, mangroves, marsh grass and seagrass, only the sea grasses are adapted to live
completely submerged in water. Pollination occurs under water.
Seagrasses are not grasses, and thrie
closest relatives are probably lilies. Pollen is carried by water currents and
seeds are dispersed by water currents and feces of fish and other animals that
browse of the plants. Eel Grass (Zostera) is the most
widely distributed of the 50 species and found in shallow, well-protected
coastal waters such as bays and estuaries.
It has distinct flat ribbon like leaves. Surf grass (Phyllospadix) is on rocky coasts exposed to waver action. Turtle grass (Thalassia)
is common in the keys. ( Manatee Grass (Halophila)).
Mangroves..80 unrelated species of
flowering plants adapted to various ways to survive in the salty environment.
Mangroves have a special root system using aerial roots to ventilate the
system below the substratum (especially in anaerobic mud and under water).
types of mangroves found in Florida include the Red Mangrove (Rhizophora mangle), the Black Mangrove, (Avicennia germinans)
and White Mangrove, (Laguncularia racemosa). These are found along the estuaries, canals,
and form islands.
"Mangrove" is applied to a diverse group of tropical salt tolerant
trees which are abundant in south Florida and the Florida Keys. These trees
have been able to successfully occupy coastal environments where they have
little or no competition from other species of plants.
order to do this, the mangrove trees have had to cope with a number of problems
including soft, oxygen-poor soil, periodic flooding of their root zones and a
highly saline environment.
Some genera have seeds that germinate on the parent
plant and drop as seedlings rather than seeds.
plants, true members of the grass family, usually consists of succulent shrubs and herbs and
grass-like species which can tolerate large salinity fluctuations. Cord
grass inhabits the zone above the mud flats and can be submerged, and have salt
glands to get rid of excess salt. Halophytes are found in higher levels of the
Phytoplankton...plankton..Greek for wanderer meaning that they are passively transported. Nekton are those that swim. Size categories of plankton:
nultraplankton: less than 2 um
nnanoplankton: 2-20 um
nmicroplankton: 20-200 um
nmacroplankton: 200-2000 nm
nmegaplankton: greater than 2 mm
Holoplankton...spend entire life in open waters
Meroplankton...spends part of life as plankton and
part as a benthic or bottom dweller.
Tychopelagic...normally attached but break off and
can then be found in the plankton.
Blue-green algae (Monera)
nChlorophyta green algae
nChrysophyta golden algae/silicoflagellates
nXanthophyta yellow-green algae
nDinophyta (Pyrrophyta) dinoflagellates & zooxanthellae
Blue green Algae are prokaryotic cells specialized to carry on photosynthesis.
Chlorophyll, phycobilins, phycocyanin,
beta-carotene and xanthophylls are the pigments so color range is great..red, blue-green, black,
olive, yellow, violet. The only other prokaryotes that carry out photosynthesis
are some autotrophic bacteria.
There are hemosynthetic bacteria too
that release stored energy in chemical compounds (H2S) .
Blue-green algae contain a bluish pigment, PHYCOCYANIN. (Considered
Photosynthesis occurs on folded membranes within the cell
(rather than chloroplasts).
They do produce O2 etc. and probably played a role in the
oxygen in the atmosphere.
The presence of this ultraplankton
is only being discovered .
Responsibilities of blue greens include forming dark crusts
along wave splashed zones , exploiting polluted sediments and even forming a
few types of red tides (Trichodesmium erythraea).(skin rashes).
Blue-greens also carry out nitrogen fixation in the ocean, converting
N into nitrates to be converted to proteins. Some blue-greens live on the
surfaces of seaweeds and sea grasses (epiphites) and
some are known to lose their ability to photosynthesize, becoming heterotrophs.
Chlorophyta..few marine planktonic
reps. but lots of macroscopic, benthic types
Chrysophyta...golden/yellow color because in
addition to chlorophyll. a & c there is a dominant
and many members have a cell covering of small siliceous scales. The silicoflagellates have an internal glass skeleton.
Rare today.Characterized by star shaped internal
skeleton made of silica and a single flagellum.
Silicoflagellates are one of the lesser known types of
photosynthetic protists found in the oceans. They are
prominent because of their bizarre “skeleton”
which consists of a rigid flattened basket of hollow tubes. Two to 8 spines
project radially from the central basket. Because the
construction of this skeleton is so robust, scientists can estimate abundances
of this organism fairly easily.
Fossils of the skeleton indicate that the diversity of silicoflagellates was once greater than the few species we
have today. The cell itself is a lumpy bag containing golden-brown bodies
(chloroplasts) that sits around the central part of the skeleton.
Where do they live?
Silicoflagellates are found in sun-lit zones of the of the ocean and are generally more common in colder
waters. During winter they can be found closer to the tropics, but they retreat
to cooler waters again in the warmer months. The distribution of their fossilised skeletons is used to help determine
sea-temperatures in earlier ages
Haptophyta.. or Coccolithophorids, flagellated spheric
cells covered with button like structures called coccoliths
made of calcium carbonate. This was broken off the above class because of
different types of flagella. Phaeocystis forms
gelatinous clumps, visible and can effect migration
patterns of fish.
nEmiliana huxleyi - global distribution, bloom former,
major player in marine phytoplankton
nThought to be largest global producer of
calcium carbonate, hence major sink for CO2.
Also, blooms long ago followed by anaerobiosis,
caused them to sediment and gave rise to oil deposits in the North Sea.
The coccolithophores have small calcareous
plates covering them and the patterns go way back in fossil records and are
used by oil companies.
but have no fucoxanthin pigment. The Xanthophyta include more than 600 species. Members of this
group are photosynthetic organisms which live primarily in freshwater, though
some are found in marine waters, in damp soil, or on tree trunks.
Euglenophyta...euglena..class contains only unicellular flagellates,
chlorophyll. A and B and a flexible cell covering...no wall!
Euglenophyta...euglena..class contains only unicellular flagellates,
chlorophyll. A and B and a flexible cell covering...no wall!
Fungi There are at least 500 species of marine fungi, most
which are decomposers of dead organic matter. Some are parasites causing
diseases in fish , shellfish, seaweed and sponges. Also
some form associations with algae forming lichens and marine lichens may be
found as thick, dark-brown/black or even orange patches on the wave splashed
zones on rocky shores.
important group in terms of primary productivity. The characteristic yellow-brown color is
due to CAROTENOID pigments in addition to two types of chlorophyll (a and c). Half of the 12,000 species are marine.
The brownish scum in a fish tank consists of millions of diatoms.
n1. Usually unicellular but chains do occur
n2. Pigments chlorophyll. a & c
and fucoxanthin (gold/brown)
n3. Food reserve is chrysolaminarin
and oils (buoyant)
n4. Only flagellate cells in reproduction (uniflagellate.)
n5. Walls made of glass called frustule.
n6. Looks like petri dish
7. Two symmetries..radial
and bilateral which divide diatoms into 2 sub-divisions..Centric
Reproduction...valve to valve...one product of the division
retains the parental epivalve (top) and the
other the parental hypovalve (bottom) which
results in the bottom being slightly smaller than the parent because a new
inside always grows back.
Continued vegetative reproduction reduces the size
until it gets to its smallest size and this diploid cell produces gametes which
fuse to form a full size zygote. Only the small cells will undergo
sexual reproduction and if they get too small, they can't even do that.
or the Dinoflagellates Mostly unicellular with 2
unequal flagella , one that wraps around a groove in
the middle of the cell, and the other that trails free, and include the non-motile
zooxanthellae (found in corals).
The are most abundant in warm waters and second
to diatoms in cold water.
Characteristics of Dinoflagellates
1. Most are marine
2. Chlorophyll a, c, peridinin.
Starch, oils , but can ingest food stuffs
3. Distinctive flagella pattern
4. Some without walls (naked) and others with walls (Armor)
with cellulosic plates fitting together like armor
which may have spines,
5. Half are colorless, some heterotrophic, sparophitic,
phagocytic, parasitic and some photosynthetic. It is
thought that through
evolution they have gained the ability to function
as primary producers by "capturing" and using chloroplasts from other
6. some bioluminescent
7. some responsible for red tides and
20 spp.. secrete
toxins. They reproduce by simple cell division and form blooms that often color
the water red, reddish-brown, yellow or unusual shades.
a. all toxic ones are photosynthetic
b. all are estuarine or neritic forms
c. all probably produce benthic, sexual
d. all capable of producing monospecific blooms (suggest competitive advantages through
e. all produce bioactive-watersoluable or lipid soluble toxins that are hemolytic,
or neurotoxic in activity. (NSP, PSP, Dsp)
The Zooxanthellae are a variety of dinoflagellates which have developed a close association
with an animal host. The hosts range from sponges to giant clams but the most
important are the ones in the stony corals.
They help fix carbon through photosynthesis, release organic
matter to be used by the coral, help in formation of the coral skeleton.
It was once believed that all zooxanthellae
were the same species, Symbiodinium microadriaticum (Rowan and Powers, 1991). However,
recently, zooxanthellae of various corals have been
found to belong to at least 10 different algal taxa.
THE IMPORTANCE OF CORALLINE ALGAE
Corallines as carbon stores
Coralline algae take up carbon for use in the process of
photosynthesis, as do most plants, but they have an additional mechanism of
carbon uptake, the calcification process.
Calcium is deposited in the cell walls of coralline algae in
the form of calcium carbonate.
Coralline algae may be one of the largest stores of carbon in
Non-geniculate corallines are of
particular significance in the ecology of coral reefs, where they provide
calcareous material to the structure of the reef, help cement the reef
together, and are mportant sources of primary
production. Coralline algae are especially important in reef construction, as
they lay down calcium carbonate as calcite.
Although they contribute considerable bulk to the calcium
carbonate structure of coral reefs, their more important role in most areas of
the reef, is in acting as the cement which binds the reef materials together
into a solid and sturdy structure.
An area where corallines are particularly important in
constructing reef framework is in the algal ridge that characterizes
surf-pounded reefs in both the Atlantic and Indo-Pacfic
regions. Algal ridges are carbonate frameworks that are constructed mainly by nongeniculate coralline algae (after Adey
They require high and persistent wave action to form, so are
best developed on the windward reefs in areas where there is little or no
seasonal change in wind direction. Algal ridges are one of the main reef
structures that prevent oceanic waves from striking adjacent coastlines, and
they thus help to prevent coastal erosion.
Plants Algae Review ANSWERS
15 algin and carrageenan.
28 . diatoms - cell wall of silica and
may involve an alternation of generations
an artificial sweetener