WhoWho’’s Who in the Waters Who in the WaterAlgae, Vascular PlantsAlgae, Vascular PlantsAnd HABSAnd HABSWater BiologyPHC 6937Andrew S. Kane, Ph.D.University of FloridaEnvironmental Health Program, PHHPCenter for Environmental and Human ToxicologyEmerging Pathogens InstituteWATER QUALITYWATER QUALITY FACTORSFACTORSAquatic plants & nutrientsAquatic plants & nutrientsEffects of nutrient loading:Increased 1˚ productivity, clogging ofwaterways, hypoxia, degradation ofalgae and aquatic plants imparts anearthy, musty taste and odor todrinking water due to the productionof volatile organic molecules.Habitats and samplingHabitats and samplingplankton tows plant or macroscopic algae samples rock or log scrapingsAquatic Vascular PlantsAquatic Vascular Plants• Vascular plants have a more complex structurethan macroscopic algae, including tube-like vascularbundles for nutrient transport.• Often classified based on physical relationshipwith water:• Floating unattached• Floating attached• Submersed• EmergentTypes of Vascular PlantsTypes of Vascular PlantsEmergent plants:• Roots and basal portions grow beneath the surface ofshallow water; leaves and stems mostly above thewater surface.• Common species in this group include cattail,pickerelweed, and many species of sedges.• Found primarily in shallow littoral areas of lakes andalong banks of slow moving streams.Types of Vascular PlantsTypes of Vascular PlantsPickerel WeedPontederiaTypes of Vascular PlantsTypes of Vascular PlantsCattailTypha latifoliaTypes of Vascular PlantsTypes of Vascular PlantsSedge MarshAquatic Vascular PlantsAquatic Vascular PlantsFloating unattached plants:•Float with most of the plant body above the water'ssurface.•If there are any roots present, they hang free in thewater and are not anchored to the bottom.•These plants move about with wind and water currents.•Common floating unattached plants includewater lettuce, water hyacinth, and duckweed.The aquatic fern Azolla is the only fern that can fix nitrogen. It does so viasymbiotic association with a cyanobacterium (Anabaena azollae). Azolla is foundworldwide and is sometimes used as a valuable source of nitrogen foragriculture. The plants shown here are each about 2 cm across. The pale yellowplant has been deprived of cobalt (essential for the cyanobacterial symbiont)and thus is showing typical signs of N deficiency.Aquatic Vascular PlantsAquatic Vascular PlantsAquatic Vascular PlantsAquatic Vascular PlantsFloating attached plants:• Leaves floating on the water's surface but roots anchored tothe bottom substrate.• The leaves are connected by flexible petioles (long, thin,fibrous stems), or by a combination of petioles and stems.• May have underwater leaves in addition to floating leaves.• Common example: water lilies.Aquatic Vascular PlantsAquatic Vascular PlantsAquatic Vascular PlantsAquatic Vascular PlantsSubmersed plants:• Usually anchored to substrate; vegetative parts do notreach surface. Flowers may be above the water forbetter dispersal by both wave action and wind.• Dependent upon water clarity and light penetrationthroughout the water column.• Common examples include watermilfoil, elodea, wildcelery, coontail, and various other pondweeds.Aquatic Vascular PlantsAquatic Vascular PlantsCoontail, Hornwort(Ceratophyllum)Water milfoil; Parrotfeather(Myriophyllum)Anacharis = ElodeaHydrilla (left) can be distinguished from Elodea by its sharplyserrated leaf margins, spinous midrib & rough textureAquatic Vascular PlantsAquatic Vascular PlantsEurasian milfoil: AN INVASIVE SPECIESIntroduction to the algaeIntroduction to the algae * BACILLARIOPHYTA (diatoms) * CHLOROPHYTA (green algae) * CHRYSOPHYTA (golden algae) * CYANOBACTERIA (blue-green algae) * DINOPHYTA (dinoflagellates) * PHAEOPHYTA (brown algae) * RHODOPHYTA (red algae)•Eucaryotic; unicellular, planktonic, freshwater &marine species•Lack flagella (except for gametes) but can locomoteby chemical secretion•Silica frustules -> diatomaceous earth; used forfiltration, absorbancy, abrasives, component of TNT•Most autotrophic; some obligate heterotrophs (mustabsorb organic carbon because lack chlorophyll)•Estimated to contribute to 45% of total oceanicprimary production•Indicator species (present and historic)•Many beautiful species; some HAB/toxin producers (eg:Pseudo-nitzchia)BACILLARIOPHYTA (diatoms)BacillariophytaBacillariophyta:: DiatomsDiatomsUnicellular or can exist as colonies in the shape of filaments,Unicellular or can exist as colonies in the shape of filaments,ribbons, fans, zigzags and ribbons, fans, zigzags and stellate stellate coloniescoloniesBacillariophytaBacillariophyta:: DiatomsDiatomsCHLOROPHYTA (green algae)•Eukaryotes•Unicellular, filamentous, colonial,sheets•Most aquatic; some terrestrial, onsnow, trees, symbionts•Green color associated 1˚ withchlorophyll•Calcified green algae (eg Halimeda)important as contributors of marinesediments•Freshwater HABs associated withnutrient loading -> hypoxiaChlamydomonas SpirogyraVolvoxCHLOROPHYTA (green algae)HydrodictyonHalimedaUlvaCHRYSOPHYTA(golden algae)•Eukaryotic; may be unicellular,filamentous, branched, amoeboid•Typically flagellated (1 or 2 flagella) inmotile stage•Abundant in freshwater and marineenvironments•Chlorophylls a and c often masked byaccessory carotenoid pigment,fucoxanthin•Formerly included diatoms and brownalgae; includes RhaphidophytesDinobryonDinobryonUroglenaUroglenaChrysopyxisChrysopyxisCHRYSOPHYTA(golden algae)•Raphidophytes are a small class of mainly marine, planktonicChrysophytes. Single-celled, naked flagellates (lack cell walls).•Heterosigma and Fibrocapsa species have been associated with‘red tide’ blooms off the coasts of Japan and New England. Fishkills have occasionally been observed related to the species.•Can produce brevetoxin-like toxins.•In Delaware during 2000, a fish kill was associated with a toxicbloom of Chattonella verruculosa.ChattonellaFibrocapsaHeterosigmaCYANOBACTERIA (blue-green algae)•Prokaryotic; lack the organized chloroplasts of eukaryotes; theirphotosynthetic apparatus distributed peripherally in cytoplasm.•Instead of bacteriochlorophylls found in purple and green bacteria,blue-greens contain chlorophyll a (as in eukaryotic phototrophs),and produce free 02 as a product of photosynthesis.•Phycobilins are major light-gathering pigment bound to proteingranules (phycobilisomes).•Large blooms of