Ocean Seaweed

Structure of Seaweed 

http://oceanlink.info/biodiversity/seaweeds/seaweed

a.      Why are seaweeds assigned to the Protista rather than Plantae? 

Seaweeds are assigned to the Protista family rather than the Plantae family because. They are neither plants or animals. Seaweed lack a  specialized vascular system they dont produce leaves, stems or roots. They dont need the conducting system because they get there nutrients and fluids from the water. The seaweed has four basic parts holdfasts which takes place of the roots on a plant. The stripe is the name of the steam, the leaves of the seaweeds are called blades. Floats also known as pneumatocysts are what help the seaweed to float on the water surface. The whole body structure is called the thallus. The most important ecological roles filled by seaweed is that they are a food source for marine animals such as sea urchins and fishes. The seaweed also gives a shelter and protection to many sea creatures such as small fish, sea urchins and other small creatures. Just like humens seaweed gets stress. Several types of environmental stress is that the seaweed can not travel with the tides and are exposed to air pressure and weather conditions which can hurt the seaweed. The cells of adult seaweed plants are diploid, meaning that they contain two sets of chromosomes. Diploid plants are called sporophytes because they produce and release spores. Spores are produced by meiosis, a cell division process that halves the number of chromosomes and forms new cells containing only one set of chromosomes. After they are released from the sporophyte, the haploid spores settle and grow into male and female plants called gametophytes. The gametophytes are also haploid, and they produce gametes which are the egg and sperm. When the sperm and egg are released the fertilize in the water than creates seaweed.  

Four Human benefits of Seaweed are,, 

• Seaweed is chock-full of vitamins, minerals, and fiber, and can be tasty. For at least 1,500 years, the Japanese have enrobed a mixture of raw fish, sticky rice, and other ingredients in a seaweed called nori. The delectable result is a sushi roll.
• Many seaweeds contain anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial agents. Their known medicinal effects have been legion for thousands of years; the ancient Romans used them to treat wounds, burns, and rashes. Anecdotal evidence also suggests that the ancient Egyptians may have used them as a treatment for breast cancer.
• Certain seaweeds do, in fact, possess powerful cancer-fighting agents that researchers hope will eventually prove effective in the treatment of malignant tumors and leukemia in people. While dietary soy was long credited for the low rate of cancer in Japan, this indicator of robust health is now attributed to dietary seaweed.
• These versatile marine plants and algae have also contributed to economic growth. Among their many uses in manufacturing, they are effective binding agents (emulsifiers) in such commercial goods as toothpaste and fruit jelly, and popular softeners (emollients) in organic cosmetics and skin-care products. 

Examples of New England Seaweeds

Red seaweed Chondrus crispus

Green seaweed Ulva lactuca

Brown seaweed

Species: Laminaria Digitata

Also know as Kelp 

Photosynthesis of Seaweeds

  In class we did experiments called exploring the rate of photosynthesis. We took a peice of a tree and we put it in a tube and filped the tube into  a beaker of water and we put it under light. The light caused the plant to create bubbles that rised from the plant to the surface of the tube itself. This is the moisture moing up.

·         OceanLink;

·         NOAA Ocean Service;

·         The Seaweed Site.

http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/seaweed.html

http://oceanlink.info/biodiversity/seaweeds/seaweeds.html

http://oceanlink.info/biodiversity/seaweeds/seaweeds.html

“For most of history, man has had to fight nature to survive; in this century he is beginning to realize that, in order to survive, he must protect it.” ― Jacques-Yves Cousteau