Phycology (from
GreekAncient Greek is the historical stage in the development of the Greek language spanning across the Archaic , Classical , and Hellenistic periods of ancient Greece and the ancient world. It is predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
,
phykos, "seaweed"; and ,
-logia) or
algology (from
LatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Roman conquest, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe...
, also "seaweed") is the scientific study of algae. Phycology is a branch of life science and often is regarded as a subdiscipline of
botanyBotany, plant science, phytology, or plant biology is a branch of biology and is the scientific study of plant life and development...
.
Algae are important as
primary producers400px|thumb|Global oceanic and terrestrial photoautotroph abundance, from September [[1997]] to August 2000. As an estimate of autotroph biomass, it is only a rough indicator of primary production potential, and not an actual estimate of it...
in aquatic
ecosystemAn ecosystem is a system of interdependent organisms which share the same habitat, in an area functioning together with all of the physical factors of the environment. Ecosystems can be permanent or temporary. Ecosystems usually form a number of food webs...
s. Most algae are
eukaryoticA eukaryote is an organism whose cells contain complex structures enclosed within membranes. The defining membrane-bound structure that sets eukaryotic cells apart from prokaryotic cells is the nucleus, or nuclear envelope, within which the genetic material is carried...
,
photosyntheticPhotosynthesis is a process that converts carbon dioxide into organic compounds, especially sugars, using the energy from sunlight. Photosynthesis occurs in plants, algae, and many species of Bacteria, but not in Archaea...
organisms that live in a wet environment. They are distinguished from the higher
plantPlants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. They include familiar organisms such as trees, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The scientific study of plants, known as botany, has identified about 350,000 extant species of plants, defined as seed plants,...
s by a lack of true
rootIn vascular plants, the root is the organ of a plant that typically lies below the surface of the soil. This is not always the case, however, since a root can also be aerial or aerating . Furthermore, a stem normally occurring below ground is not exceptional either...
s, stems or
leaveIn botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin. There is continued debate about whether the flatness of leaves evolved to expose the chloroplasts to more light or to increase the absorption of carbon dioxide. In...
s.
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Phycology (from
GreekAncient Greek is the historical stage in the development of the Greek language spanning across the Archaic , Classical , and Hellenistic periods of ancient Greece and the ancient world. It is predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
,
phykos, "seaweed"; and ,
-logia) or
algology (from
LatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Roman conquest, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe...
, also "seaweed") is the scientific study of algae. Phycology is a branch of life science and often is regarded as a subdiscipline of
botanyBotany, plant science, phytology, or plant biology is a branch of biology and is the scientific study of plant life and development...
.
Algae are important as
primary producers400px|thumb|Global oceanic and terrestrial photoautotroph abundance, from September [[1997]] to August 2000. As an estimate of autotroph biomass, it is only a rough indicator of primary production potential, and not an actual estimate of it...
in aquatic
ecosystemAn ecosystem is a system of interdependent organisms which share the same habitat, in an area functioning together with all of the physical factors of the environment. Ecosystems can be permanent or temporary. Ecosystems usually form a number of food webs...
s. Most algae are
eukaryoticA eukaryote is an organism whose cells contain complex structures enclosed within membranes. The defining membrane-bound structure that sets eukaryotic cells apart from prokaryotic cells is the nucleus, or nuclear envelope, within which the genetic material is carried...
,
photosyntheticPhotosynthesis is a process that converts carbon dioxide into organic compounds, especially sugars, using the energy from sunlight. Photosynthesis occurs in plants, algae, and many species of Bacteria, but not in Archaea...
organisms that live in a wet environment. They are distinguished from the higher
plantPlants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. They include familiar organisms such as trees, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The scientific study of plants, known as botany, has identified about 350,000 extant species of plants, defined as seed plants,...
s by a lack of true
rootIn vascular plants, the root is the organ of a plant that typically lies below the surface of the soil. This is not always the case, however, since a root can also be aerial or aerating . Furthermore, a stem normally occurring below ground is not exceptional either...
s, stems or
leaveIn botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin. There is continued debate about whether the flatness of leaves evolved to expose the chloroplasts to more light or to increase the absorption of carbon dioxide. In...
s. Many species are single-celled and microscopic (including
phytoplanktonPhytoplankton are the autotrophic component of the plankton community. The name comes from the Greek words φυτον , or "plant", and πλαγκτος , meaning "wanderer" or "drifter". Most phytoplankton are too small to be individually seen with the unaided eye...
and other microalgae); many others are multicellular to one degree or another, some of these growing to large size (for example, seaweeds such as
kelp{Taxobox| name =Kelp| image = Kelp In Freycinet Tasmania.jpg| image_width = 300px| image_caption = Kelp on rocky beach in Freycinet, Tasmania| regnum = Chromalveolata| phylum = Heterokontophyta| classis = Phaeophyceae| ordo = Laminariales...
and
SargassumSargassum is a genus of brown macroalga in the order Fucales. Numerous species are distributed throughout the temperate and tropical oceans of the world, where they generally inhabit shallow water and coral reefs. However, the genus may be best known for its planktonic species...
).
Phycology includes the study of
prokaryoticThe prokaryotes are a group of organisms that lack a cell nucleus , or any other membrane-bound organelles. They differ from the eukaryotes, which have a cell nucleus. Most are unicellular, but a few prokaryotes such as myxobacteria have multicellular stages in their life cycles...
forms known as blue-green algae or
cyanobacteriaCyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae, blue-green bacteria or Cyanophyta, is a phylum of bacteria that obtain their energy through photosynthesis. The name "cyanobacteria" comes from the color of the bacteria = blue)...
. A number of microscopic algae also occur as symbionts in lichens.
A
phycologist is a person who studies
algaeAlgae are a large and diverse group of simple, typically autotrophic organisms, ranging from unicellular to multicellular forms. The largest and most complex marine forms are called seaweeds. They are photosynthetic, like plants, and "simple" because they lack the many distinct organs found in...
as described above.
External links
- http://www.algaefuel.org/ AlgaeFuel research and development company in California bay area.
- http://www.brphycsoc.org/ British Phycological Society
- http://www.intphycsoc.org/ International Phycological Society
- http://www.schweizerbart.de/j/algological-studies/ Algological Studies is an international journal of phycology which publishes peer reviewed scientific papers of international significance from the entire field of algology (phycology)
- http://www.psaalgae.org/ Phycological Society of America
- http://www.algaebase.org/ AlgaeBase
- http://www.seaweed.ie/ Seaweed Site