Phycology and Phycology Lab

Course
by
Dr. Mohamed Jawad Al-Haidarey

Ecological Biogeochemistry /
Phycology

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 Textbooks:
Lectures, required reading:
•Linda E Graham & Lee W Wilcox (2000)
Algae , Prentice-Hall.
•Marty Kelly & Richard Telford (2007)
Common fresh water diatoms of Britain and
Ireland.
•Janet R stein (1975) Hand book of
phcological methods, culture methods, and
growth measurements.
• ‫) علم‬2007( ‫ حسين علي و نضال ادريس سليمان‬،‫السعدي‬
‫الطحالب‬
•‫) مقدمة الطحالب‬1979( ‫ ايان‬، ‫مورس‬
‫) االشنات والطحالب البحرية‬1985( ‫ وفاء‬، ‫بغدادي‬
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Attendance politics:
 Regular attendance of lectures and lab
classes is expected. It is further
expected that students show up in
time. For both the lecture and the lab
classes, the student who comes late
most will have to bring doughnuts or
some food for the next lecture

 .
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 Phycology Syllabus
 · Introduction to phycology
 · Basics of algal biology
 · Reproduction in algae
 · The role of algae in biogeochemistry
 · Algae in biological associations
 · The role of algae in aquatic food webs
 · Taxonomy and Systematics of Algae
 · Phytoplankton size in ecology
 · The physical environment: temperature,
light, turbulence
 · Growth of phytoplankton
 · Losses of phytoplankton
 · Swimming and bouyancy
 · Cyanobacteria
 · The origin of eukaryotic algae
 · Euglenophytes
· Cryptophytes
· Prymensiophytes (Haptophytes)
· Dinophytes (Dinoflagellates)
· Introduction to the Ochrophytes
· Diatoms
· Raphidophytes and Chrysophyceans
· Synurophyceans, silicoflagellates,
pedinelids, tribophyceans
· Phaeophytes (Brown algae)
· Rhodophytes (Red algae)
· Introduction to the Green algae
· Prasinophyceans
· Ulvophyceans
· Trebouxiophyceans
· Chlorophyceans
· Charophyceans
· Ecology of macroalgae and
periphyton
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 INTRODUCTION TO ALGAL
CHARACTERISTICS AND
DIVERSITY

PHYCOLOGY=STUDY OF ALGAE
Phycology is the science (gr. logos) of
algae (gr. phycos). This discipline deals
with the morphology, taxonomy,
phylogeny, biology, and ecology of algae
in all ecosystems

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 FOSSIL HISTORY OF
ALGAE
 3.5 billion yrs ago
 Cyanobacteria—first algae
 Prokaryotes—lack membrane bound
organelles
 Later eukaryotes evolved—
mitochondria, chloroplasts, and
chromosomes containing DNA.

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 Where are algae abound?
 Kelp forest up to 50 m
height are the marine
equivalent to terrestrial
forest; mainly built by
brown algae.

 Some algae encrust with

carbonate, building reef-
like structures;
Cyanobacteria can from
rock-like structures in
warm tidal areas:
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stromatolites.
Where are algae abound?

 Algae grow or are

attached to animals and
serve as camouflage for
the animal
 Algae live as symbionts in
animals such as Hydra,
corals, or the protozoan
ciliate Paramecium; in
corals they are referred to
as zooxanthellae
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 Where are algae abound?
 Small algae live on top of
larger algae: epiphyton
 Algae in free water:
phytoplankton
 Terrestrial algae
 Algae have adapted to
life on land and occur
as cryptobiotic crusts in
desert and grassland
soils or endocryptolithis
algae in rocks

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 Where are algae abound?
 Algae live on the snow
cover of glaciers and in the
brine channels of sea ice.
 A symbiosis of algae and
fungi produced the lichens,
which are pioneer plants,
help convert rock into soil
by excreting acids,
stabilize desert soil, are
sensitive to air pollution

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 Where are algae abound?

 Algae can cover

trees or buildings
green or live in the
hollow hairs of ice
bears

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 Algal Blooms
 Algae can be so dominant that they discolor the water
 Higher amounts of nutrients are usually the cause
 Algal blooms can have harmful effects on life and ecosystem:
Reduced water clarity causes benthic communities to die
off
Fish kills are common effects
50% of algal blooms produce toxins harmful to other
organisms, including humans
Algal blooms produce a shift in food web structure and
species composition
 Algal blooms can mostly be linked to sewage input or
agricultural activities, leading to nutrient pollution:
Eutrophication
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13
 Summery of the lecture one

 We can find Algae in different Size (from

some microns to more than 60 meters)
We can find Algae in different region (soil,
water, animal , plants … etc)
Some of algae are prokaryotes and others
are eukaryotes.

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 Summery of the lecture one
 In the aquatic ecosystems we can find algae as :
 Attachment:
o Epipelic / on the clay
o Epipzamic / on the sand
o Epilithic / on the rocks.
o Epiphytic / on the plants
o Epizoic / on the animals
o Endozoic / in the animals body
o Endophytic / in the plants body
 As Plankton:
o Euphytoplankton / all the life cycle is plankton
o Tychophytoplankton / some of the life cycle is plankton 15
 Summery of the lecture one
 According to environments we can subdivided Algae
in to :
 Halophyts: in region with high salinity.
 Thermophyts: in region with high temperature.
 Cryptophyts: in the region with low temperature.
In the trrastrial environments we can classified Algae
in to :
 Lithophyts
 Epidaphics
 Endodaphics
 Casmolithics
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Quiz:
 Please, in short, Clarified:
what is Phycology means? And where
are algae abound?

Don’t be Cheat

If you did you are

cheater
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Lecture two:

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 ALGAE

 How are algae similar to higher plants?

 How are algae different from higher

plants?

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 Similarities

 Presence of cell wall—mostly

cellulosic.
 Autotrophs/Primary producers—
carry out photosynthesis
 Presence of chlorophyll a

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 Differences
 Algae lack the roots, stems, leaves, and other
structures typical of true plants.
 Algae do not have vascular tissues—non
vascular plants
 Algae do not form embryos within protective
coverings—all cells are fertile.
 Variations in pigments.
 Variations in cell structure—unicellular, colonial
and multicellular forms.

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 PROKARYOTIC VS
EUKARYOTIC ALGAE
 Prokaryote algal cell
Prokaryotes
---No nuclear region and
complex organelles—
chloroplasts, mitochondria,
golgi bodies, and
endoplasmic reticula.

-- Cyanobacteria. Chlorophylls
are on internal membranes of
flattened vesicles called
thylakoids-contain
photosynthetic pigments.
Phycobiliproteins occur in
granular structures called
phycobilisomes.

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Source: http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/webb/BOT311/Cyanobacteria/Cyanobacteria.htm
 Prokaryotic and
Eukaryotic Algae
 Eukaryotes
---Distinct chlorplast, nuclear
region and complex
organelles.
--- Thylakoids are grouped granum with a
Stack of thylakoids
into grana
pyrenoids are centers of carbon dioxide
fixation within the chloroplasts of algae
and hornworts. Pyrenoids are not pyrenoid

membrane-bound organelles, but

specialized areas of the plastid that
contain high levels of ribulose-1,5-
bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase 23
 Forms of Algae
 BODY OF AN
ALGA=THALLUS

 DIVERSITY IN
MORPHOLOGY
----MICROSCOPIC
Unicellular, Colonial
and Filamentous
forms.

Source: http://images.google.com/images 24
Forms of Algae

MACROALGAE

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Forms of Algae

MICRO ALGAE

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 Forms of Algae
1. Unicells: single cells,
motile with flagellate
(like Chlamydomonas
and Euglena) or
nonmotile (like Diatoms)

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2. Multicellular form: the vegetation forms are in six forms:

a. Colonies:
 Assemblage of individual cells with variable or constant
number of cells that remain constant throughout the colony
life in mucilaginous matrix (containing an extracellular matrix
made of a gelatinous glycoprotein), these colonies may be
motile (like Volvox and Pandorina) or nonmotile (like
Scendesmus and Pediastrum).

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 Coenobium:
Colony with constant number of cells, which cannot
survive alone; specific „tasks“ among groups of cells
is common (is a colony containing a fixed number of
cells, with little or no specialization)

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b. Aggregations: is aggregation of cells that have
ability to simple division (so, its colony but
unconstant in form and size), the aggregations
are in several types:
• Palmelloid form: non-motile cells embedded in
mucilage (like Tetraspora).

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•Dendroid form: resembling a tree in
form or in pattern of growth (Dinobryon).

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•Amoeboid or Rhizopodial form such as
Chlorarachnion.

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c. Filaments: daughter cells remain attached after cell
division and form a cell chain; adjacent cells share
cell wall (distinguish them from linear colonies!);
maybe unbranched (uniseriate such as Zygnema
and Ulthrix) or branched (regular mutiseriate such
as Cladophora or unreguler mutiseriate such as
Pithophora).

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Cladophora
Pithophora
d. Coenocytic or siphonaceaous forms: one
large, multinucleate cell without cross walls
such as Vaucheria

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e. Parenchymatous (such as Ulva ) and algae: mostly
macro-scopic algae with tissue of undifferentiated
cells and growth originating from a meristem with cell
division in three dimensions

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; pseudoparenchymatous (such as Batrachospermum)
pseudoparenchymatous superficially resemble
parenchyma but are composed of apprised filaments

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f. Erect thallus forms: Thallus, from Latinized Greek
(thallos), meaning a green shoot or twig, is an
undifferentiated vegetative tissue (leaves, roots, and
stems) of some non-mobile organisms such as
Chara and Nitella.

Chara 37
 CELLULAR ORGANIZATION

 Flagella=organs of locomotion.
 Chloroplast=site of
photosynthesis. Thylakoids are
present in the chloroplast. The
pigments are present in the
thylakoids.
 Pyrenoid-structure associated
with chloroplast. Contains
ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate
Carboxylase, proteins and
carbohydrates.
 Eye-spot=part of chloroplast. Source: A Biology of the Algae
By Philip Sze, third edition, WCB MCGraw-Hill
Directs the cell towards light. 38
Variations in the pigment
constitution
 Chlorophylls (green)
 Carotenoids (brown, yellow or red)
 Phycobilins (red pigment-phycoerythrin
blue pigment –phycocyanin)

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Summery of lecture two:

Unicellular Multicellular

1. Colonies
2. Aggregations
•Palmelloid (Tetraspora)
•Dendroid (Dinobryon)
•Amoeboid (Chlororachnion)
3.Filaments
4. Coenocytic / Vaucheria
5.Parenkematus/ Ulva
6. Psedoparenkematus / Batrachospermum
7. Erect thallus / Chara

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Quiz of lecture two

What is Pyrinoid ? Don’t be Cheat

If you did you are

cheater
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Lecture Three

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 Growth in algae

1. Diffuse or generalized growth: (Ulva).

2. Localized growth:
a. Apical growth: (Chara, Cladophora).
b. Basal growth: (Bulbochaete).
c. Intercalary growth: (Laminaria, Oedogonium).
d. Trichothallic growth: (Ectocarpus)

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Growth in algae

Apical and intercalary Tricothallic

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Reproduction in algae
The reproduction of algae can be discussed
under two types, namely, asexual reproduction and
sexual reproduction. The former type refers to
reproduction in which a new organism is generated
from a single parent. In case of sexual type, two
haploid sex cells are fused to form a diploid zygote
that develops into an organism. Let's discuss in
brief about the asexual and sexual reproduction in
algae along with examples.

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First: Asexual Reproduction includes:
1. Vegetation reproduction:
a. In unicellular algae: simple cell division some
time called binary fission (such as Gleocapsa).
b. In multicellular (colonies, filamentous, thallus,
etc) by:
 Fragmentation such as Microsystis.
 Hormogonia: A small, motile filament, formed by
some Cyanobacteria, that detaches and grows
by cell division into a new filament such as
Oscillatoria.
 Propagules: a structure capable of producing a
new individual such as Sphacelaria.

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 Vegetative reproduction

Cell Division
A cell could not keep growing bigger forever. Food molecules could not
reach the inside of a large cell fast enough to keep it alive. So when a cell
reached a certain size it had to divide into two smaller cells called
daughters. The daughters grew and, when they reached that certain size,
they too divided, this processes called binary fission.
But this caused a problem, Why?. 47
Vegetative reproduction

Hormogonia in Oscillatoria

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Vegetative reproduction

Propagules

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2. Another method of asexual reproduction in
algae is by formation of spores; the algal
species Ulothrix, Chlamydomonas and
Chlorella reproduce by this method.
Depending upon the algal species, the
spores can be produced in normal
vegetative cells or specialized cells called
sporangia. They are either motile called zoo
spores or non motile called akinete spores.

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Ulotrix 51
 There are a lot of types of akinete spores such
as:
• Autospores: immobile spores that cannot
develop flagella such as Chlorella.
• Aplanospores: immobile spores that may
nevertheless potentially grow flagella.
• Hypnospores: A thick-walled resting cyst.
• Tetraspores: spores produced by a
tetrasporophyte, characteristic of red algae.
• Statospores: spores that are not actively
discharged from the algal fruiting body
• Auxospores: A spore in diatom algae that
leads to reformation of an enlarged vegetative
cell. 52
Second: Sexual Reproduction:
As already mentioned, sexual reproduction takes
place by the union of male and female gametes.
The gametes may be identical in shape and size
called isogamy or different called heterogamy.
Some of the simplest forms of algae like Spirogyra
reproduce by the conjugation method of sexual
reproduction. In the process of conjugation, two
filamentous strands (or two organisms) of the
same algae species exchange genetic material
through the conjugation tube. Among two strands,
one acts as a donor and another serves as a
receiver. After exchanging the genetic material,
two strands separate from each other. The
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receiver then give rise to a diploid organism.
Second: Sexual Reproduction:
Isogamy: is the form of sexual reproduction in which the gametes
produced are identical in shape, size and motility. There is no
structural distinction between "male" and "female" gametes. Pairs of
isogametes align themselves with their flagellar poles touching and
after several seconds, the motile gametes fuse to form a single, non-
motile, diploid zygote.

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Second: Sexual Reproduction:
Isogametes, less commonly, may be non-motile structures. A
specific example exhibiting non-motile isogametes is the
reproductive process known as conjugation, in Figure below, the
conjugating Spirogyra identify the four stages of the process as
outlined.

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Isogamy in Spirogyra sp.
A. Resting filaments of alga cells.
B. Formation of conjugation tubes between two adjacent
filaments.
C. Cytoplasmic contents of each cell form a compact mass,
representing an isogamete. The isogametes from one
filament migrate through the conjugation tubes into the
adjacent filament.
The two isogametes unite to form a zygote. Each zygote
eventually undergoes meiosis to form four haploid cells. One
haploid cell will form a new filament by mitosis, the other
three degenerate.

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Heterogamy
In heterogamy, two different types of gametes are produced.
The male gamete, the sperm cell, is typically very small,
highly motile and is produced in very large numbers. The
female gamete, the egg cell, is much larger and non-motile,
called Oogamy. Fewer female gametes are produced but each
is usually afforded some protection. Heterogametes are also
produced by higher plants and animals.

Oedogonium sp. is a green alga that produces

heterogametes. The figure bellow illustrates the life
cycle of this alga. You can locate a mature egg cell and
the small male filaments, which are the site of sperm
production, the egg cells and male filaments are usually
adjacent to one another on the same algal strand.

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Heterogamy in Oedogonium sp.
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 SEXUAL REPRODUCTION
 ISOGAMY-Both gametes have flagella and similar in size and morphology.

 ANISOGAMY-Gametes have flagella but are dissimilar in shape and size. One
gamete is distinctly smaller than the other one.

 OOGAMY-gamete with flagella (sperm) fuses with a larger, non flagellated

gamete (egg).

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 REPRODUCTION

Sexual-
Gametes

Vegetative Asexual Reproduction

Cell Zoospores after losing their flagella,
divisions/Fragmentation form new filaments. No sexual fusion.
=part of the filament
breaks off from the rest
and forms a new one.

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a, b, and c are zoospores
d, e, and f are aplanospores
g, and h are hypnospores
K is autospores.
L is Isogamous, m is Anisogamous, and n 61
is Oogamous
•Gametes look like vegetative cells or very different
•Isogamy: both gametes look identical
•Anisogamy: male and female gametes differ
morphologically
•Oogamy: One gamete is motile (male), one is nonmotile
(female)
•Monecious: both gametes produced by the same
individual
•Diecious: male and female gametes are produced by
different individuals
•Homothallic: gametes from one individual can fuse
(self-fertile)
•Heterothallic gametes from one individual cannot fuse
(self-sterile) 62
 The life cycles in algae
•Three different types of life cycle,
depending on when miosis occurs, the
type of cells produced, and if there is
more than one free-living stage present
in the life-cycle.

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 The life cycles in algae
•Life-cycle I (haploid life cycle): major part of life-cycle
(vegetative phase) in haploid state, with meiosis upon
germination of the zygote (zygotic meiosis) also referred to
as haplontic life cycle, a single, predominant haploid phase

64
 The life cycles in algae
•Life-cycle II (Diploid life cycle): vegetative phase is
diploid, with meiosis upon formation of gametes (gametic
meiosis) also referred to as diplontic life cycle, a single,
predominant diploid phase

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 The life cycles in algae
•Life-cycle III (Diplobiontic life cycle): three multicellular phases, the
gametophyte and one or more sporophyte(s)
Gametophyte: typically haploid, produces gametes by mitosis
Sporophyte: typically diploid, produces spores by meiosis
Isomorphic: sporophyte and gametophyte look alike
Heteromorphic: sporo- and gametophyte look different

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 Basis of algal Classification

the different groups of algae can be classified

on the basis of a number of characteristics.
1. Color has been an important means of
classifying algae, and gives many groups their
names. However, other characteristics, such as
type of photosynthetic food reserve, flagella
type, cell wall structure and composition, and
life history, have been important in further
distinguishing the algal divisions.
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 Flagella
Locomotion in algae is largely
based on the action of flagella.
The figure below illustrates the
wide variety of flagella present
in the algae. The primary
distinctions used for
classification are the number
of flagella, their location on the
cell, and their morphology.
Two major types of flagella are
recognized: the smooth, or
acronematic, and the hairy, or
pleuronematic, types. The
smooth flagella generally
moves by whiplash motion and
the hairy flagella moves by a
pulling motion.
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ECOLOGICAL DIVERSITY

 LAND---WATER
 FRESH WATER---MARINE HABITATS
 FLOATING (PLANKTONIC)—BENTHIC
(BOTTOM DWELLERS)
 EPIPHYTES

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