Rhodophyta and Its Kingdom

Rhodophyta and its Kingdom

The Rhodophyta also known as Red Algae, are found in tropical marine climates, and there are more then 5200 species of Rhodophytes. They are part of the Protista kingdom, which consists of three groups, alga which rhodophyta belongs to and, the other two groups are protozoans, and fungi.

Nutritional Characteristics

Rhodophyta are autotrophs as they can make their own food through photosynthesis. They absorb blue light wavelengths that shine in deep waters and through this light they can photosynthesise to obtain floridian starch.

Life Cycle

They have a 3 stage life cycle. It involves one haploid stage and two diploid stages. When the nori stage begins, the male releases gametes that combine with the female to create a stage that releases spores. The spores that have been released germinate into a smaller alga. Usually it then gets classified as a different genus as it looks so different. They then go through a phase called conchocelis, where they hide under other marine animals shells to grow, then they disperse conchospores.

Habitat

Rhodophyta are found in the deep waters of tropical marine climates. They are the only alga that are capable of living that deep because they can photosynthesise through the blue light wavelengths that shine greatest at those depths. They are also very commonly found on the reefs as they have contributed more to reef building than any other organism.

Physical Characteristics

Rhodophyta appear red as they have a special pigment called phycoerythrin that reflects red light, but some Rhodophyta don’t have as much phycoerythrin which makes them appear green or blue from the chlorophyll.

Their cell wall is very firm on the inside containing cellulose and their outer layer is gelatinous. Some of these species can contain more then one nuclei.

Species in the Rhodophyta Phylum

A common species that is part of the rhodophyta phylum is the coralline alga. This is the alga that has a calcium carbonate skeleton. They are the type of rhodophytes that have a hard shell and are very important to reef building.

Rhodophyta in Research

Dr. Lopez-Bautista studies the most diverse forms of red alga. He focuses on the detailed comparative morphological data to generate phylogenies in order to test classical taxonomic approaches to the taxonomy of the red algae. He is hoping through his research he will come up with a biogeography hypotheses.

Other interesting facts

Rhodophyta are multicultural that are characterized by branching but without a differentiation into complex tissues. Rhodophytes are very important and useful or many different things. In Asia people eat