3 min read•Last Updated on July 22, 2024
Macroalgae are ocean powerhouses, turning sunlight into food for marine life. They're the foundation of coastal food webs, feeding small creatures that bigger animals eat. These seaweeds also create underwater forests, giving homes to countless sea critters.
Beyond feeding and housing marine life, macroalgae clean up the ocean. They soak up extra nutrients that could cause problems and help keep the water clear. Where macroalgae grow depends on light, temperature, and what's in the water.
Energy for Life: An Overview of Photosynthesis ‹ OpenCurriculum View original
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BG - Macroalgal metabolism and lateral carbon flows can create significant carbon sinks View original
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Frontiers | Playing to the Positives: Using Synergies to Enhance Kelp Forest Restoration View original
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Energy for Life: An Overview of Photosynthesis ‹ OpenCurriculum View original
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BG - Macroalgal metabolism and lateral carbon flows can create significant carbon sinks View original
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Energy for Life: An Overview of Photosynthesis ‹ OpenCurriculum View original
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BG - Macroalgal metabolism and lateral carbon flows can create significant carbon sinks View original
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Frontiers | Playing to the Positives: Using Synergies to Enhance Kelp Forest Restoration View original
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Energy for Life: An Overview of Photosynthesis ‹ OpenCurriculum View original
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BG - Macroalgal metabolism and lateral carbon flows can create significant carbon sinks View original
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Biodiversity enhancement refers to the strategies and practices aimed at increasing the variety of life within an ecosystem, promoting healthier and more resilient biological communities. In marine ecosystems, this concept is crucial as it supports ecosystem functioning, boosts productivity, and strengthens the resilience of habitats against stressors such as pollution and climate change.
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Biodiversity enhancement refers to the strategies and practices aimed at increasing the variety of life within an ecosystem, promoting healthier and more resilient biological communities. In marine ecosystems, this concept is crucial as it supports ecosystem functioning, boosts productivity, and strengthens the resilience of habitats against stressors such as pollution and climate change.
Term 1 of 19
Kelp forests are underwater ecosystems formed by large, brown macroalgae known as kelp, which can grow into towering structures that provide habitat and shelter for a diverse array of marine life. These forests play a crucial role in coastal environments, influencing biodiversity patterns and contributing significantly to the productivity of marine habitats across different ocean basins.
Macrocystis pyrifera: A species of giant kelp that is one of the largest and fastest-growing marine algae, commonly found in kelp forests along the Pacific coast.
Biodiversity hotspots: Regions that are rich in biodiversity and are under threat from human activities, often including areas where kelp forests provide critical habitats.
Trophic levels: Different levels in a food web or ecosystem that categorize organisms based on their feeding habits, with kelp forests supporting various trophic levels through complex food webs.
Eutrophication is a process that occurs when water bodies become overly enriched with nutrients, leading to excessive growth of algae and other aquatic plants. This phenomenon can disrupt aquatic ecosystems, cause hypoxia, and threaten the biodiversity of marine life by altering food webs and nutrient cycling.
Nutrients: Substances like nitrogen and phosphorus that are essential for the growth of aquatic organisms but can cause problems when present in excess.
Hypoxia: A condition in which there is a deficiency of oxygen in the water, often resulting from excessive algal blooms that decompose and consume oxygen.
Algal Blooms: Rapid increases in algae populations in water bodies, often triggered by high nutrient levels, which can lead to toxic effects and degraded water quality.
Primary producers are organisms that can produce their own food through photosynthesis or chemosynthesis, forming the foundation of the food web in various ecosystems. These organisms convert sunlight or inorganic compounds into energy, which is then utilized by other organisms in the ecosystem, making them crucial players in energy transfer and nutrient cycling.
Photosynthesis: The process by which green plants, algae, and some bacteria convert light energy into chemical energy in the form of glucose, using carbon dioxide and water.
Chemosynthesis: A process used by certain bacteria and archaea to produce energy by converting inorganic compounds (like hydrogen sulfide) into organic matter without sunlight.
Food Web: A complex network of interconnected food chains representing how energy and nutrients flow through an ecosystem, illustrating the relationships between different organisms.
Coral reefs are diverse underwater ecosystems made up of colonies of coral polyps that build calcium carbonate structures, providing habitat and shelter for a wide variety of marine life. They play a crucial role in marine biodiversity and serve as essential components of coastal protection, nutrient cycling, and fishery support.
Coral bleaching: A phenomenon where corals lose their vibrant colors due to stress, often caused by rising sea temperatures or pollution, leading to the expulsion of symbiotic algae.
Symbiosis: A close and often long-term interaction between different biological species, crucial in coral reefs where corals and zooxanthellae (algae) co-exist.
Marine biodiversity: The variety of life forms in ocean ecosystems, including the vast array of species found in coral reefs, which contribute to overall ecosystem health.