production rate and chlorophyll quantity, as well as a correlation between this
illuminance and the rate of photosynthesis.
It is thus possible to calculate the amount of photosynthesis by measuring
chlorophyll quantity and illuminance. At the time, the lack of technology needed for
continuous chlorophyll measurement prevented precise calculation of its quantity,
but later measurements applied this method to measure the chlorophyll quantity at
the ocean’s surface and found it to be quite significant. Beginning in 1995, artificial
satellites launched by the U.S., Japan, and the countries of Europe allowed ongoing
temporal and spatial measurement of chlorophyll amounts at the ocean surface
(Borowitzka 1999).
7.1.2 The World of Microalgae
The countless populations of the marine ecosystem form a complex food chain, an
interrelationship through which energy is transmitted and the ecosystem’s circulation and functions can be maintained. As primary producers, microalgae occupy a
very important role in this marine ecosystem, and the composition of these populations may transform with changes in factors of their physical, chemical, and
biological environment and the geography and oceanographic characteristics of the
waters that they inhabit. Moreover, because microalgae possess photosynthetic
pigments, they are capable of synthesizing high-energy organic compounds from
inorganic materials in environments where light is present. Chlorophyll-a in particular, as the pigment present at the highest rate among microalgae, represents a
basic nutrient stage for the marine ecosystem, as well as an important indicator in
measuring microalgae’s primary production capacity. The primary products thus
synthesized provide the foundation for the flow of energy through the seas and fresh
waters, while the oxygen produced through photosynthesis supplies most of the
respiration needs of underwater organisms. While they share the common quality of
generating oxygen and producing organic matter by fixing CO 2 through photosynthesis, these microalgae also exhibit many differences among species (Spolaore
et al. 2006).
Microalgae can be classified into many types: those that lack flagella and live by
floating, those that possess a few flagella and are capable of actively swimming,
those that possess scale-like objects around their cell, those that are encased in a
calcified shell, those that encase in a helmet-like shell, and those that despite their
photosynthetic capabilities consume bacteria and organic matter with broom-like
bearing hairs (like the strands of a broom). In addition to photosynthesis pigment
type, microalgae can be categorized into species by chloroplast shape, storage
polysaccharides, reproductive cycle, form, ecology, molecular biology line, and cell
system characteristics resulting from the presence or absence of a cell wall and
pyrenoids. Besides differences in shape, cells also exhibit great outward differences
in coloration, including deep blue, green, yellow, brown, and red varieties
(Muller-Feuga 2000).
7.1 What Are Microalgae?
199
illuminance and the rate of photosynthesis.
It is thus possible to calculate the amount of photosynthesis by measuring
chlorophyll quantity and illuminance. At the time, the lack of technology needed for
continuous chlorophyll measurement prevented precise calculation of its quantity,
but later measurements applied this method to measure the chlorophyll quantity at
the ocean’s surface and found it to be quite significant. Beginning in 1995, artificial
satellites launched by the U.S., Japan, and the countries of Europe allowed ongoing
temporal and spatial measurement of chlorophyll amounts at the ocean surface
(Borowitzka 1999).
7.1.2 The World of Microalgae
The countless populations of the marine ecosystem form a complex food chain, an
interrelationship through which energy is transmitted and the ecosystem’s circulation and functions can be maintained. As primary producers, microalgae occupy a
very important role in this marine ecosystem, and the composition of these populations may transform with changes in factors of their physical, chemical, and
biological environment and the geography and oceanographic characteristics of the
waters that they inhabit. Moreover, because microalgae possess photosynthetic
pigments, they are capable of synthesizing high-energy organic compounds from
inorganic materials in environments where light is present. Chlorophyll-a in particular, as the pigment present at the highest rate among microalgae, represents a
basic nutrient stage for the marine ecosystem, as well as an important indicator in
measuring microalgae’s primary production capacity. The primary products thus
synthesized provide the foundation for the flow of energy through the seas and fresh
waters, while the oxygen produced through photosynthesis supplies most of the
respiration needs of underwater organisms. While they share the common quality of
generating oxygen and producing organic matter by fixing CO 2 through photosynthesis, these microalgae also exhibit many differences among species (Spolaore
et al. 2006).
Microalgae can be classified into many types: those that lack flagella and live by
floating, those that possess a few flagella and are capable of actively swimming,
those that possess scale-like objects around their cell, those that are encased in a
calcified shell, those that encase in a helmet-like shell, and those that despite their
photosynthetic capabilities consume bacteria and organic matter with broom-like
bearing hairs (like the strands of a broom). In addition to photosynthesis pigment
type, microalgae can be categorized into species by chloroplast shape, storage
polysaccharides, reproductive cycle, form, ecology, molecular biology line, and cell
system characteristics resulting from the presence or absence of a cell wall and
pyrenoids. Besides differences in shape, cells also exhibit great outward differences
in coloration, including deep blue, green, yellow, brown, and red varieties
(Muller-Feuga 2000).
7.1 What Are Microalgae?
199