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Algae Covered Pond. Algal nutrient solutions are made up of a mixture of chemical salts and seawater. [1] Sometimes referred to as "Growth Media", nutrient solutions (e.g., the Hoagland solution, along with carbon dioxide and light), provide the materials needed for algae to grow.
Tillandsia bourgaei growing on an oak tree in Mexico. An epiphyte is a plant or plant-like organism that grows on the surface of another plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it.
A large number of Phaeophyceae are intertidal or upper littoral, [26] and they are predominantly cool and cold water organisms that benefit from nutrients in up welling cold water currents and inflows from land; Sargassum being a prominent exception to this generalisation. Brown algae growing in brackish waters are almost solely asexual. [26]
Different taxa of snow algae produce differing amounts of primary and secondary carotenoids, meaning the color of a snow algae bloom can give some indication of the composition of algae found there. The alga Chlamydomonas nivalis is a very abundant component of red blooms due to its high concentrations of astaxanthin and its derivatives. [12]
Algae living on the snowpack of ice-covered lakes may be especially rich in essential polyunsaturated fatty acids. [39] Snow and glacier Ice algae Algae also thrive on snow fields, glaciers and ice sheets. The species found in these habitats are distinct from those associated with sea ice because the system is freshwater and the algae are ...
Algae can be used to capture fertilizers in runoff from farms. When subsequently harvested, the enriched algae can be used as fertilizer. Aquaria and ponds can be filtered using algae, which absorb nutrients from the water in a device called an algae scrubber, also known as an algae turf scrubber. [129] [130]
A nurse crop is sometimes used, particularly for spring plantings, to reduce weed problems and soil erosion, but can lead to competition for light, water, and nutrients. [43] In most climates, alfalfa is cut three to four times a year, but it can be harvested up to 12 times per year in Arizona and southern California.
In a reversal of the pattern on land, in the oceans, almost all photosynthesis is performed by algae and cyanobacteria, with a small fraction contributed by vascular plants and other groups. Algae encompass a diverse range of organisms, ranging from single floating cells to attached seaweeds. They include photoautotrophs from a variety of groups.