Food Sealer

What is the most common food-storage molecule used by algae?

Compare the types of food-storage molecules found in the seven types of algae.

Public Comments

1. Algae are most prominent in bodies of water, but are also common in terrestrial environments. However, terrestrial algae are usually rather inconspicuous and far more common in moist, tropical regions than dry ones, because algae lack vascular tissues and other adaptations to live on land. Algae are also found in other situations, such as on snow and on exposed rocks in symbiosis with a fungus as lichen. The various sorts of algae play significant roles in aquatic ecology. Microscopic forms that live suspended in the water column — called phytoplankton — provide the food base for most marine food chains. In very high densities (so-called algal blooms) these algae may discolor the water and outcompete, poison, or asphyxiate other life forms. Seaweeds grow mostly in shallow marine waters, however some have been recorded to a depth of 300 m.Some are used as human food or harvested for useful substances such as agar, carrageenan, or fertilizer.