Reef Hk 夢幻海洋 - 珊瑚和海水魚的綜合平台

Brief introduction to Algae

The algae (plural of the singular alga) are a diverse assemblage of organisms sharing the following attributes : all have the pigment chlorophyll, all produce spores as one of their modes of reproduction ( some unicellular algae many themselves function as gametes), and most are aquatic, though many are terrestrial or subterranean. We commonly think of algae as “ plants”, but the term “algae” is used to describe organisms belonging to the first three of the five kingdoms of life listed here : Plantae (eukaryotic, multicellular, autotrophs); Monera (prokaryotic, unicellular, autotrophs or heterotrophs); Protista (eukaryotic, unicellular or simple multicellular autotrophs or heterotrophs); Animalia (eukaryotic, multicellular, ingestive heterotrophs); and Fungi (eukaryotic, multicellular, absorptive heterotrophs). Algae range in form from microscopic unicellular phytoplankton to multicellular seaweeds that may grow more than 50 meters long. Most are photosynthetic ( Photoautotrophs), some are facultative or obligate heterotrophs and a few are phagotrophic ! Some algae are symbiotic, living on or within animals, fungi or other plants and some are parasitic. Seagrasses, often confused with seaweeds because both are aquatic, are flowering vascular plants, not algae.