Now that deciduous trees are bare, trunks and branches have taken center stage, and you might be noticing nuances and irregularities that evaded your attention over the summer. For instance, what are ... Algae Algae (singular: alga) are photosynthetic, eukaryotic organisms that do not develop multicellular sex organs.

Understanding the Context

Algae can be unicellular, or they may be large, multicellular organisms. Algae can occur in salt or fresh waters, or on the surfaces of moist soil or rocks . The multicellular algae develop specialized tissues, but they lack the true stems, leaves, or roots of the more complex ... green algae Large group of marine and freshwater algae (phylum Chlorophyta).

Key Insights

They are distinct from other algae by virtue of possessing cup-shaped chloroplasts that contain chlorophyll b, and by producing cells with flagella at some stage in their lives. Green algae range in size from microscopic single-cell types to large, complex seaweeds. Cyanobacteria Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae [1]) are microorganisms that structurally resemble bacteria (they lack a nucleus and organelles ). However, unlike other bacteria, cyanobacteria contain chlorophyll a and conduct oxygenic photosynthesis. Protista Background Classification Protozoa Algae Slime molds and water molds Disease-causing protists Beneficial protists Resources The kingdom Protista is the most diverse of all of the eukaryotic kingdoms.

Final Thoughts

It is certainly not monophyletic and its members really only share the fact that they have a simple structure, without any obvious tissues or organs. There are more than 200,000 known ... Cryptomonads for instance, are considered red-brownish algae of Cryptomonadida Order by botanists, and protozoans of Cryptophycea Class by zoologists. This controversy is due to the unusual characteristics of these two phyla, sharing features with both plants and animals. Further complicating a precise definition of protozoa is the close relationship between some protozoa and unicellular algae. Modern taxonomic treatments recognize these similarities and group protozoa, photosynthetic unicellular algae, and slime molds together as protists or protoctists.

Rhodophyta (red algae) A group of Eukarya which are mostly red in colour; no flagellated cells are formed, and the storage product is a type of starch known as floridean starch. Sexual reproduction tends to be complicated. Red algae may be unicellular, but most are filamentous or membranaceous. The majority occur in the sea, but some are freshwater or terrestrial.