Phycology in the Aquatic Ecosystem

Did you know that there are nearly 30,000 species of algae? Algae play a very important role in the aquatic ecosystem. They are the primary producers of oxygen. They lack roots, stems, and leaves and range from single celled microscopic organisms like phytoplankton to multicellular larger organisms like seaweeds. The reason we know about algae is because scientists, called phycologists, study algae in marine and freshwater environments around the world.

Phycology, or the study of algae, is one of the most important sciences. It can be traced back over two thousand years, with rapid development in the science in the past 300 years. Humans are interested in algae because of its plant-like qualities. It is now categorized as a subset of botany, the study of plants. It has even been dubbed one of the world’s most important organisms.

Algae are amazing. They can survive in the most extreme conditions. Scientists have found algae in deserts, boiling springs, ice, and snow. They survive off the simple process of photosynthesis, where they use energy from the sun to create simple sugars and give off oxygen. Oxygen allows other species, like fish to breathe underwater. Algae are the key to the underwater food chain. But algae are more than just an underwater oxygen producer. It is also estimated that algae produces 70% to 80% of all the oxygen in the atmosphere. Without algae humans, along with other animals, wouldn’t exist.

As you can tell algae is critical to the world. Scientists have discovered three types of algae – red, green, and brown. Red algae live in the deep tropical and temperate waters. Brown algae, the most abundant in the ocean, are small and drift with the currents. Green algae are the type you might recognize on lakes and ponds. Scientists study algae all over the world. Algae can live as deep as 300 feet, so one way to observe and gather algae data is by diving. Often they are so small they cannot be seen with the naked eye.

The only way to truly see these incredible organisms is by microscope.

Algae have multiple other uses besides just being oxygen producers and food chain members. Algae are used to keep paint smooth, thicken ice cream, fight cancer, and cure coughs. And science may discover other important uses in the future. So next time you see that “green scum” on your local pond, you will know that that slime is one of the big reasons that you can both breath and enjoy ice cream.