University:
Cameron University
Course:
1004 | General Biology
Academic year:

2021
Views:

478

Pages:

17
Author:

Clint W.

Flowering Plants General Structure Flowering Plants • • Very similar to land plants (angiosperms) Kingdom Plantae Reproduction involves alternation of generations between a dominate sporophyte and a minute gametophyte. • Gametophytes develop in the separate sporophyte flowers • Male = pollen grain, Female = embryo sac • Flowering Plants Of the 250,000 species of plants only a few live in the ocean  They are more evolved than algae  Have tissues to transport water and nutrients including: Vascular tissue Roots, stems, leaves Seeds & Fruits Flowering Plants Seagrasses Flowering Plants ~ Seagrasses  Not really grasses  evolved from land plants (the lily family)  About 70 species Flowering Plants ~ Seagrasses  Live mostly submerged in shallow waters, such as bays and estuaries  Most are in tropical and subtropical  Tend to be found in muddy and sandy areas in shallow water  Are limited in depth based on the penetration of light through the water Flowering Plants ~ Seagrasses  They provide shelter to a variety of organisms.  Their roots and leaves decrease water turbulence that helps to stabilize soft bottoms  Rich source of detritus (that directly or indirectly feeds many animals). Flowering Plants ~ Seagrasses Flowering Plants Salt Marsh Plants Flowering Plants ~ Salt Marsh Plants Cordgrasses  Members of the grass Family  14 species known  Do not tolerate total submergence by seawater  Not marine plants, but are land plants that can tolerate high salt areas (halophyte) salt  Flowering Plants ~ Salt Marsh Plants  Cordgrasses are found in the zone above mudflats that becomes submerged by high tide, so leaves are always partly expose to air.  Salt glands in the leaves excrete excess salt Flowering Plants ~ Salt Marsh Plants  Provide: Breeding ground for many species that are important to fisheries. Protection against erosion due to the network of horizontal stems that extend under the sediment Provide natural water purification systems. Provide food to insects and other Grazers. Flowering Plants Mangroves Flowering Plants ~ Mangroves Include 70 unrelated species of flowering plants  Trees and shrubs adapted to live along tropical and subtropical shores.  Have adapted to an environment where salinity is high, water loss from leaves is high, and sediments are soft and poor in oxygen  Thick leaves reduce water loss  Flowering Plants ~ Mangroves Mangrove forests = mangals  Found in muddy or sandy shores that are protected from wave action  Many species of marine and terrestrial organisms live among the roots or branches of mangroves.  High primary production (detritus) but few animals graze on them  Flowering Plants ~ Mangroves  Seeds germinate while still attached to the parent tree.  Foot-long seedlings fall and stick into the soft ground like a knife or float in the water  to disperse to new  locations. Flowering Plants ~ Mangroves