Benthic algae...lives attached to things in the water.
Neustonic algae....lives on the surface of the water which sometimes requires small floats to keep it there.
Ephiphitic algae....lives attached to other algae.
Epilitic algae...lives on stones.
Epipelic algae....lives in mud or sands.
Episoic algae...lives attached to other animals.
A Diatom can be geometric in shape. They can be used to calibrate microscopes they are so precise..
Examples of red algae, Rhodophyta
Peridinium, a dinoflagellate
How are algae distinguished?
There are several criteria:
By the color of their plastids or photosynthetic pigments. For example Rhodophyta has red, Phaeophyta has brown, Chlorophyta has green.
By the presence of flagella, and if so how many, how do they insert in the cell and how do they beat.
By extracellular material, is there any present around the cell and if there is, what is it made up of, organic or inorganic, continuous or scaly?
Whether they live singly, or in colonies, filaments, or do they exhibit differentiation that would allow them to satisfy the criterion of multicellularity?
Dinoflagellates have two flagella, some are not photosynthetic but ingest their food. In their bloom cycle they may be toxic...red tide!
Phaeophyta, brown algae in cross section.
Rock algae, growing on a shoreline.
Sea Grass
Chlorophyta...green algae, grows in areas where it can receive light such as shallow water or near the surface.
The Groups of Algae:
Alveolates.....autotriphic, dinoflagellates, may be unicellular or colonial, free living, symbiotic or parasitic. Contains chlorophylls a and c, but some are symbionts.
Chlorarachniophytes...genera of amoeboid orgaisms all with symbiotic algae. Syncytial and free living they contain chlorophyll b.
Cryptomonads....about 12 genera of falgellates, single cells rarely forming colonies, some are endobiotic, chlorphylls a and c, phycobilins.
Euglenids.....contains members with green chloroplasts that live as single cells, and contain chlorophyll b.
Glaucophytes....flagellated and nonflagellated protists with similar phycobilin-rich symbionts.
Haptophytes....all but one have plastids, one genera , some species naked, some with scales. Single cells or some are endosymbionts. Chlorophylls a and c.
Rhodophyta....the red algae, free-living and parasitic, single celled, and multicellular, phycobilins.
Stramenophiles.....includes diatoms, brown algae, and chrysophytes (golden algae), single or colonial, some multicellular, free-living forms and parasitic. Chlorophylls a and c.
Viridaeplantae.....the gree algae, chlorophyta. They are single celled or colonial, may be multicellular, free living. chlorophyll b.
