why do algal species who’re adapted to live in deeper waters contain accessory pigments
- pigments absorb specific wavelengths of light for photosynthesis
- red light has a wavelength of 700 nm, penetrating shallow water
- blue & green light have shorter wavelengths, 450-500 nm, penetrating water deeply
- chlorophylls only absorb red and blue light, if this is all the producer has, they’re limited to shallow waters
- producers with accessory pigments such as carotenoids or phycobilins can live in deeper waters as they absorb blue & green light
elemental nutrients and their function in organisms
nitrogen creates amino acids
phosphates create nucleic acids
magnesium and iron allow chlorophyll to photosynthesize
why is green algae primarily found at the surface of the water
- green algae mainly has chlorophyll “a” with small amounts of accessory pigments which absorb red & blue/violet light
- red light has a long wavelength of 700 nm, meaning it can only penetrate up to 200m in water
state where chlorophyll “a” and accessory pigments are found in a chloroplast
thylakoid membranes
outline the ecological importance of primary producers
- provides habitats
- act as a nursery grounds
- fixes carbon to create energy for food webs
- photosynthesizing plants provide oxygen for respiration
- food source
- flowering plants help prevent coastal erosion
describe the role of chlorophyll in the light-dependent stage of photosynthesis
- chlorophyll absorbs energy from the sun, causing it to lose an electron
- producing ATP and NADPH
- photolysis; splitting of water occurs
why are chemosynthetic bacteria important to hydrothermal vent food webs
- they are the producers
- fixing carbon and providing energy to higher trophic levels
describe and explain the effect of temperature on the rate of photosynthesis
- as temperature increases, the rate of photosynthesis increases up to an optimum temp., then begins to decrease
- enzymes start to denature after a given temperature due to an increase of kinetic energy
how do the limiting factors of photosynthesis influence the depth that phytoplankton will be found at
- majority phytoplankton will be in the photic zone; 200m because below it, light intensity is decreased
- temperature decreases as depth increases, so enzymes would denature
- carbon dioxide is more available in the photic zone due to atmospheric dissolution and respiration
label the parts of a chloroplast
outer membrane
inner membrane
granum: a stack of thylakoids
lumen: inner layer of thylakoids
thylakoids: circular structure
stroma: the space or liquid inside of the chloroplast
describe and explain the effect of light intensity on the rate of photosynthesis
- as light intensity increases, the rate of photosynthesis increases to a maximum, then plateaus
- light energy is absorbed by the chlorophyll, which is now saturated with light
- light is no longer the limiting factor, now another factor is
compare and contrast photosynthesis with chemosynthesis
similarities:
- utilizes carbon dioxide
- produces glucose
- provide energy to the food web
differences:
- sulfur is produced through chemosynthesis
- oxygen is produced through photosynthesis
- hydrogen sulfide is the energy source for chemosynthesis
- sunlight is the energy source for photosynthesis
- photosynthesis involves chlorophyll
- chemosynthesis does not involve pigments nor chlorophyll
describe and explain the effect of carbon dioxide on the rate of photosynthesis
- as carbon dioxide increases, the rate of photosynthesis increases to a maximum, then plateaus
- the chloroplast is oversaturated with carbon dioxide
- carbon dioxide is no longer the limiting factor, another factor now is
wavelengths to reference
700 nm -> red
500 nm -> green
450 nm -> blue
400 nm -> violet
how does the presence of accessory pigments in marine producers relate to the penetration of different wavelengths of light
- accessory pigments absorb light energy of different wavelengths and pass the energy on to chlorophyll “a” for the photosynthesis reaction
- long wavelengths only penetrate shallow water while shorter wavelengths penetrate deeper
- green algae contains chlorophyll “b” which absorbs red light with a wavelength of ~700 nm & blue light (450nm)
- brown algae contains carotenoids such as fucoxanthin and xanthophylls which absorb blue and green light
- phycobilins are unique to red algae, which also absorb blue & green light
anaerobic respiration
- reaction in the absence of oxygen
- occurs in the cytoplasm
- the incomplete combustion of glucose produces 2 molecs of atp for every glucose molec
What is chlorophyll a?
A primary pigment involved in photosynthesis that absorbs light primarily in the violet-blue and red wavelengths
define accessory pigments
pigments that aren’t essential for photosynthesis but absorbs light of different wavelengths so the producer can be found at greater depths
red light
light that has low energy with a long wavelength, but can only reach shallow depths
define blue and green light
light that has high energy with a short wavelength, yet penetrates to great depth
paper chromatography
a technique used to separate substances by their solubility in order to extract and definitively identify pigments
define action spectrum
a graph that shows the effect of different wavelengths of light on a process, such as the rate of photosynthesis
absorption spectrum
the set of wavelengths absorbed by a pigment
- peaks represent absorbance,
- valleys represent the colors reflected
* if colors aren’t absorbed, then they’re reflected as the color we can see
define thylakoid membrane
structure that carries out light-dependent reaction of photosynthesis and provides a large surface area that is exposed to light
