Essay On Diatom

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Some diatoms are benthic and live on mud, seaweed, and other surfaces. Other diatoms are wholly plankton and float in the water column. What type of adaptations do you expect each type of diatom to have? In other words, how do some diatoms stay afloat, while others stay attached to the benthos? Some of the diatoms are able to stay afloat because they have more surface area, meaning they have extended body parts that catch the water and make them sink much slower. While other types of diatoms stay attached to the benthos because they don’t have the longer appendages and therefore sink faster. So they have to make the benthos their home.
Which group of phytoplankton contains many members that produce light by bioluminescence? The group …show more content…

Another would be that some species of the pennate diatoms are motile, meaning they are able to propel themselves in the water column. This helps them maintain a planktonic existence because they are able to stay at the top of the water column there there is more sunlight. Then there is the siliceous frustule, it is thought to have developed because it could help protect the diatom from grazers. Another thought for the siliceous frustule is that it could help capture light energy for photosynthesis, which would help them diatom because it needs photosynthesis to live. Those are some of the morphological adaptations that diatoms have evolved to help them maintain a planktonic existence.
Dinoflagellates have a pair of flagellum, transverse flagellum, that are wound up around the body and then when whipped in a wavelike fashion causes the cell to go in a spinning motion, giving it a forward propulsion. This helps the dinoflagellates keep their planktonic existence because it can help them stay at the top of the water column, making it easier for them to perform

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