Algea

The most important factor of survival for algae is their immediate habitat. Since algae are photosynthetic they cannot survive without light, thus they must live in the presence of light. Because algae are simple plants and lack the complexity of having a thick and vascular assembly, they ar

e constantly in need of water for structural support and to prevent them from drying out. Most Phylum Chlorophyta algae (green algae) live in fresh water: places such as lakes, ponds and streams. Chlamydomonas, a genus of green algae, are common in ditches, pools, and other bodies of standing fresh water and in soils. Chlamydomonas are more likely to be found in gentle environments to compensate for their simple structure. Moving on, we have the slightly more complex green algae, such as Oedogonium, Ulothrix and Spirogyra, which can adapt to both running and standing fresh water. Rarely some types of green algae are found in marine habitats (salt water, oceans). The Ulva for instance, lives in a somewhat shallow submerged marine environment. The Phylum Phaeophyta algae (brown algae) known as Fucus is commonly found in inter-tidal (marine submerged and tidal) environments and are known to withstand deeper depths.

With only few exceptions, algae are able to reproduce both asexually (one parent and the offspring is identical) and sexually (two parents and the offspring is different). The most common type of asexual reproduction is by fragmentation, meaning that an outside force (animals, wind, etc.) is responsible for breaking the plant in part and the broken off piece develops into a new plant. All green and brown algae, except Chlamydomonas, can reproduce by fragmentation. The other type of asexual reproduction is through zoospores and this is mostly observed in Chlamydomonas, Oedogonium, Ulothrix, and the colonies. This time there is a Sporangium formed which is the spore producer. The Sporangium releases zoospores which develop into adults. The third type of asexual reproduction is binary fission seen in Chlamydomonas. It’s when the parent splits into two identical daughter cells.

The second type of sexual reproduction used specifically by Oedogonia, is oogamy. Oogamy is when the male gamete, the sperm, is small and motile (capable of spontaneous movement) while the female gamete, the egg, is large and stationary. First the vegetative cells in one filament develop into an Antheridium (sperm producing structure) and an Oogonium (egg producing structure) in another filament. Then the sperms and the eggs are released, sperm swim towards the egg, fertilize the egg to become a zygote, the zygote germinates and four zoospores are produced, which develop into

Some topics in this essay:
Chlamydomonas Ulothrix, CO2 H2O, Sporophyte Gametophyte, , Phylum Phaeophyta, Oedogonium Spirogyra, Phylum Chlorophyta, Ulothrix Spirogyra, Oedogonium Ulothrix, Pleodorina Volvox, green algae, type sexual reproduction, sexual reproduction, vegetative cells, type sexual, algae simple, asexual reproduction, brown algae, raw materials, cells algae, type asexual, type asexual reproduction, standing fresh water, composed vegetative cells, zoospores develop adults,