Since the time of the first sailors, ocean waters have been studied only by 5%. In addition to the huge variety of representatives of the animal world, lush vegetation is represented in the ocean. Which in itself is surprising, because the average depth is 4 kilometers, and sunlight penetrates heavily through such a thickness. Therefore, deep plants are a unique form of life. But not only the deep-sea flora is of interest.
Large seaweed
Sargasso algae or sargassum - the largest algae with characteristic spherical bubble floats. The color of vegetation varies from brown-olive to yellowish-olive shades.
Algae grows on the rocks and any solid objects that are found in its path. Algae is fixed using statutes. Above is one or more stems (up to 10 centimeters in length) with sharp leaves.
The maximum length of the whole plant is 10 meters. In addition to leaflets and stems, the plant has spherical bubbles and reproductive organs up to 1 centimeter in length with a diameter of not more than 2 mm.
Spherical bubbles are the spheres within which gas is located. Their diameter is about 3 mm. May be in clusters or single.
This genus of brown algae includes about 150 species.
There is a version that the Sargassos are the coastal belt of the deceased Atlantis. Since that time, they were able not only to survive, but also to adapt to modern living conditions.
Where is it growing?
Sargasso algae grows at a depth of 2 to 3 meters, but it all depends on the region of habitat.
The plant is found in northern British Columbia and in southern California. Here it grows at a depth of no more than 2 meters and in places where shallow water and tides are very low and rare. Although in the same California there are algae that grow at a depth of 8 meters. In these waters, algae grows in length from 3 to 10 meters.
In the waters of France, the plant lives at a depth of 25 meters, and on the coast of England it is found at a depth of 6 to 8 meters. Here you can see it on the shore attached to other algae and oyster shells. In these waters, the average plant length is from 3 to 4 meters.
On the Japanese coast, small sargasso algae are found - no more than 2 meters in length.
Living conditions
The main condition under which this algae will grow is salinity of water from 7 to 34 ppm. Water temperature should be between + 10 and +30 ° С. Although a number of studies have shown that the lushness of vegetation is directly related to the temperature of the water, and the higher it is, the better the algae grows. Best when the water temperature is above + 25 ° C. Photosynthesis occurs faster at temperatures from + 15 to +20 ° C, and young shoots develop better at + 20 ° C.
Breeding
Sargasso algae have female and male genital organs. They are located almost on the edges of the outer branches in the middle of the plant.
On average, a plant 2 meters high can produce up to one billion embryos. Embryos attachment occurs in some minutes after emergence.
In some cases, embryos cling to the surfaces of surrounding objects before the moment when the plant itself has not yet fully grown and the branches have not attached to the trunk.
Embryos can remain in free swimming for up to three months, forming colonies in new places.
Interesting fact: Sargasso algae, growing in the Sargasso Sea, do not have genitals or even organs designed for attachment to other objects. Here they form a shapeless mass constantly floating on the surface.
Rivalry in the world
What are sargasso algae? It is believed that this plant displaces many other algae from the usual "hatched" places. This happens due to the darkening of the habitats of other algae. A striking example is the coast of Great Britain, where the Sargassos supplanted kelp, fucus and cystosira. In France, algae “defeated” Zoster and Saccharina. A similar situation is observed off the coast of British Columbia, where sargassa are now growing instead of zoster.
A plant of this species often grows around propellers and marinas. If the layer comes off the habitat, then it forms a whole mat, which floats in search of a new place.
The algae cause great harm to fishermen when they grow around nets.
On the coast of southern England, authorities are actively working to combat this vegetation. It is cleaned by hand, with tractors, special harrows are built and other methods are fought. In just three years (from 1973 to 1976), about 48 tons of algae were destroyed.
In most countries where this problem exists, cleaning work is carried out annually, but no one has managed to completely eradicate the plant. Herbicides, which at one time destroyed algae, do not act selectively, therefore, they kill other representatives of the water world, that is, such a control technique is not effective and even harmful.
Shelter for water residents
But algae is not only harmful to the environment. Sargasso algae is the habitat of 9 mushrooms, 52 other types of algae and 80 species of the animal kingdom of the ocean.
Some species literally live on these plants, for example, tubular worms and some species of mushrooms.
Homeland of the plant and how quickly it spread throughout the world
In the description of sargasso algae, one cannot fail to mention that Japan, Korea and China are the homeland of this plant. Today this species is found almost throughout the world: in North America, Western Europe, Alaska, Mexico, Portugal, Norway, the Mediterranean Sea, the Far East in Russia.
In the middle of the XX century, the plant got into North America. It is assumed that along with oysters from Japan. Already in 1944, algae was discovered off the coast of British Columbia, a year later - in California. It was first seen in the UK and Mexico in 1973, and in the Hawaiian Islands in 1999.
According to the most conservative estimates, the average annual spread of sargassa is 60 kilometers, in the Atlantic - about 7 kilometers, and near England - 30 kilometers, because it is a little colder there.
