Life-giving Slime
Seaweed Bainbridge Seaweed are not plants, but are algae. Not only do algae provide much of the Earth's oxygen, they are also the base for almost all marine life. Green algae get their color from chlorophyll and exist on or near the surface where there is plenty of sunlight. Green algae are not as common in the ocean as brown and red seaweed. It is also more closely related to land plants than any other type of algae. Source: Washington State Parks.
It is estimated that marine plants produce between 70 and 80 percent of the oxygen in the atmosphere. Nearly all marine plants are single celled, photosynthetic algae. Yup, that’s right, good ol’ scum on the pond…green gak…..slip slimein’ away. Even marine seaweed is many times colonial algae. They are a bunch of single cells trying to look like a big plant (see seaweed photo), but they are really individuals.
We need marine algae a whole lot more than they need us. Think about it, 70 percent to 80 percent of all the oxygen we breathe comes from algae! Without them we would really be sucking wind, but not for long! At this point, you may be saying, “Yo! What about the trees and other land plants?” Trees and other land plants are very important, no doubt about it. But for pure survival, we couldn’t make it without algae.
Dr. Jack Hall, September 12, 2011