Seaweed is the oldest plant on earth. Scientists believe that their age is more than one thousand million years. Let's plunge into the world of these unique plants and learn interesting facts about them, find out how algae reproduce and how they can be useful.
At a Glance
More than 45,000 species of algae are known, which can differ significantly from each other in color, shape, size and habitat. They provide life to the aquatic environment, as they are the basis of the diet of many species of marine animals.
The science of biology gives us the first knowledge about marine plants. Algae, their structure, can be examined under a microscope, which is what children do in practical classes at school.
Depending on their habitat, algae are divided into deep, which are attached to the seabed, and planktonic, floating in the water column. At the bottom of the oceans, algae can form real underwater forests.
An interesting question is how algae reproduce. For them it may beboth vegetative, asexual reproduction and sexual reproduction are characteristic. Some can reproduce by cell division, others by cuttings from part of the stem or spores.
Practical benefits of algae for humans
It is impossible to overestimate the role of aquatic plants for people. Seaweed contains a lot of iodine, minerals and vitamins. The content is much higher than in other marine products. Therefore, many algae are used in the food industry as a useful vitamin supplement.
Algae are widely used in cosmetology. Creams and emulsions based on them have a rejuvenating, toning, tightening effect on the skin. In many beauty salons, a full body wrap using natural diatoms is a popular procedure. At the same time, they are collected from the bottom of the sea, frozen, crushed and dried. The resulting powder can be used for such procedures.
Algae are used by man in the chemical industry. Of these, they are able to produce acetic acid, potassium s alts, cellulose, and alcohol. Work is also underway to obtain fuel from marine biomass.
Man has learned to use algae for biological wastewater treatment as an alternative to chemical treatment.
Interesting facts about algae
No wonder algae are the very first plants on the planet. Humanity does not get tired of solving their riddles. Scientists, studying the expanses of the sea, learn more and more interesting facts about algae:
- Algaethe composition of micro- and macroelements is similar to human blood.
- They have no roots. All substances necessary for growth are absorbed through the leaves from the water. They attach to the bottom or corals with rhizoids.
- The science that studies algae is called algology.
- Algae are deliberately propagated in spacecraft compartments to create a biologically active environment.
- Even if sea water seems clean and clear at first glance, it is also home to microscopic aquatic plants.
- A small village in Okinawa is famous for its huge number of centenarians. They themselves cite the high content of brown algae in the diet as the reason for this.
- In ancient China, seaweed was used to prevent and treat cancer.
- Aquatic plants in symbiosis with fungi form a new organism - lichen.
- Some marine plants have luminescent properties and can glow in the dark. The glow of the sea is a very picturesque phenomenon.
- The largest seaweed is kelp. Its length can reach sixty meters.
- In some highlands, a phenomenon called "watermelon snow" is known. The algae gives the snow a pink hue, the smell and taste of watermelon.
- There are species of marine plants that are dangerous to animals, they produce a special substance that saves them from being eaten by fish.
The role of algae in the biosystem of our planet
Algae are the main producers of organic matter onplanet. Their share in this process is about 80%. Here are some interesting facts about algae, confirming their importance to humans and the planet as a whole:
- Algae is a food source for many animals.
- They are also the basis for the formation of some rocks: limestone, oil shale.
- Algae take part in the formation of therapeutic mud.
- They are powerful converters of carbon dioxide to oxygen.
Why can algae save the Earth?
Few people know interesting facts about algae. Meanwhile, this topic is very entertaining. For example, there is information that these creatures can save the world. Scientists have developed a new technology that helps reduce carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere. In this case, containers with water containing microalgae will be used as filters.
As you can see, sea plants, seemingly discreet and primitive, are a storehouse of useful substances that a person has learned to use for his own good. It is also a necessary cell in the planet's biosystem, without which most of the biological processes involving algae or their metabolic products would have undergone significant changes.
