Let's Take A Walk

Spring is upon us - more or less. :) And depending on whether or not there are hurricane force winds outside, you may have gotten a chance to walk around outside some and notice a few things. If you are in Biology right now, you might start noticing some things we've been learning about in class. For example, on a shrub along the Brazos river, I saw this thing...What is it? What kingdom is it from?

You're right, I just asked you a trick question. This organism is actually from two kingdoms - it's part fungus and part algae - a symbiotic relationship known as a "lichen."

Not too far from the lichen, I saw this thing...

Whoa!! What is that?!!? The Blob? Maybe you need a bigger picture to figure it out...

Still don't know? Let's try an even bigger picture...

Those green blobs aren't blobs at all - they are algae. And if you go back to the first picture of "the blob," you'll see that it is using it's photosynthetic skills like the sun won't shine tomorrow. See all of those bubbles? What gas do you suppose is in them? To answer that question, you've got to think back to the chemical equation for photosynthesis:

Light + Water + Carbon dioxide --> Sugar + Oxygen

That's why algae can be good for water ecosystems. It is not only part of the food chain, but it oxygenates water for other organisms.

And even the Blob can't do that.