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Valonia ventricosa, also known as bubble algae, sea grape, [2] or sailor's eyeballs, [3] is a species of algae found in oceans throughout the world in tropical and subtropical regions, within the phylum Chlorophyta. It is one of the largest known unicellular organisms. [3] [4] Valonia ventricosa in the Red Sea
Algae is present in almost all ice-free areas and occurs in soils, as epiphytes on mosses, in cyanobacterial mats and in plankton of lakes and ponds. [8] It is also possible to find algae associated with rocks or living in the thin film of melted water in the snow patches. [8]
The largest marine algae are kelp species, which include bull kelp (Durvillaea antarctica), which can reach over 20 metres (66 ft) long and is thought to be the strongest kelp in the world. As many as 47 individual plants can live on 1 square metre (10.8 sq ft), and they can grow at 60 centimetres (24 in) a day.
Marine algae can be divided into six groups: green, red and brown algae, euglenophytes, dinoflagellates and diatoms. Dinoflagellates and diatoms are important components of marine algae and have their own sections below. Euglenophytes are a phylum of unicellular flagellates with only a few marine members. Not all algae are microscopic.
Additionally, the blue "eye", which is actually blue skin surrounding the eye, is a distinct trait that stands out. [5] The head, wings, and outside of the thighs are black. [2] While the underparts and central back are white. [4] White is also found on the wing bars that line the upper wing. The bill is dark ranging from brown to yellow.
The holdfast of D. antarctica is large and is very difficult to remove. D. antarctica has to resist forces equivalent to 1100 km/h on land. [18] [clarification needed] The holdfast failing is usually the result of worms and molluscs which feed on the tissue because of the sheltered habitat it creates. [19]
Declines in the duration and extent of sea ice in the Arctic leads to declines in the abundance of ice algae, which thrive in nutrient-rich pockets in the ice. These algae are eaten by zooplankton, which are in turn eaten by Arctic cod, an important food source for many marine mammals, including seals. Seals are eaten by polar bears.
In the waters around Antarctica, Isotealia antarctica is the principal predator of the sea urchin Sterechinus neumayeri.This sea urchin habitually has fragments of red algae adhering to its spines, and often conceals itself among rooted or floating fronds of the red seaweed Phyllophora antarctica.