Below The Sea Is Seaweed Copious Types And There Roles On This Planet

Seaweed is classed as huge algae and is usually abundant throughout the intertidal zone. There are three different colours of seaweed red, green and brown, The light greens can be found at all levels, tend to be small and fast growing, especially if there are an abundance of nutrients.

The brown seaweed that tends to grow high up the intertidal zone is the Pelvetia canaliculata, whose partially rolled up fronds (forming channels), unusually thick cell walls, high content of mucilage (substance which reduces water loss and present in all seaweeds) and bushy growth all help it to resist long periods of exposure to the air. Other well known brown seaweeds are the Fucus vesculosus (bladderwrack), Ascophyllum nodosum (egg wrack or knotted wrack), and Fucus serratus (tooth or serrated wrack).

The Kelps grow beneath the low tide mark, of which there are numerous varieties, Laminaria being one. The cover of seaweed provides a large range of microhabitats which shelter other organisms such as littlecrustaceans.
Every so often larger seaweeds have small ones living upon them – for example the thin walled red seaweed known as Palmaria palmata (dulse) is sometimes found growing on the kelp Laminaria digitata. Plant eaters will feed on the dulse seaweed while even the kelp can be a directsupply of food for certain animals as it provides considerable generously proportioned amounts of organic debris.

Some seaweed only grows in sheltered areas, whilst the kelp can grow into large forests below the low tidal zone. Laminaria is a genus of numerous species of brown algae, such as the Laminaria digitata; Laminaria saccharina; Laminaria bullata. New growth appears at the base of the frond in early spring, and the older upper parts are eventually shed. The kelp has a variety of uses, and in food has a pleasant taste. It is high in iron, iodine and zinc, with good levels of all the other minerals, vitamins and trace elements.

In most kelp, the body consists of flat or leaf-like structures acknowledged[/spin[ as blades. Blades originate from elongated stem-like structures, the stipes. The holdfast, a root-like structure, [spin]anchors the kelp to the substrate of the ocean. Gas-filled bladders can form at the base of blades and keep the kelp blades close to the surface, holding up the blades by the gas they contain. Another genus of kelp is Macrocystis. This genus contains the biggest of all the brown algae. Macrocystis has hugh floats containing gas at the base of its blades. The spore producing phases are perennial, and individual stems may persist for many years. One species, Macrocystis pyrifera (giant bladder kelp) has the fastest linear growth of any organism on earth. They can grow two hundred feet long at a rate of two feet per day.
Seaweed is also can be used as a great plant feed