Plant Adaptation
(Kelp)
Red algae is a large group of algae that includes many seaweeds that are mainly red in color. They are most common in tropical marine environments. Red algae is found in great depths, living 210-260 meters below the surface of the ocean. Red algae contains a pigment called phycoerythrin that allows it to live and photosynthesize at these depths. The pigment phycoerythrin absorbs blue light, which penetrates water to a greater depth than light of longer wavelengths normally used in photosynthesis. An unusual feature that red algae has is the feature of occurrence of protein plugs in cell walls between the cells, although some red algae lack them.
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(Red Algae)
Sea grasses are flowering marine plants that live submerged in the marine environment. They typically grow in shallow waters forming thick beds that provide an important habitat for marine life in temperature and tropical seas. There is an estimated 50+ species of sea grasses, most of these species grow in soft substrates such as sand and form a dense mat of entwined rhizomes and roots that secure the plant and stabilize sediment, and also absorb wave motion and slow currents. In the environment of sea grasses there needs to be high levels of light, clear water with low levels of nutrients, low levels of physical disturbance, stable salinity, and sufficient oxygen levels. Sea grasses typically grow as long thin leaves with air channels that grow up from a creeping rhizome. They are found from the mid-intertidal region to depths of 50 m but the depth of rang is controlled by the availability of light for photosynthesis.
(Sea Grasses)