Eleocharis – also known as spikerushes – can be found in the Amazon, close to the slopes of the South American Andes, Northern Australia, eastern North America, California, Southern Africa, and Asia. They usually live in water that is sea level or more than 5,000 meters in elevation.
Living organisms make up unique structures in the water that we know as coral reefs. These unusual reefs can be found in shallow and tropical marine water that has almost no nutrients in it. Water that is concentrates with high nutrient levels harm the reef because of the algae that it produces. Reefs extend from 30°N to 30°S of the equator, but they do not grow deeper than 100 ft. or where the temperature of the water falls below 16 °C (72 °F).
Corals are marine plants and animals from the class Anthozoa and live as small sea anemone-like polyps, typically in colonies of many other identical individuals. The group includes the important reef builders that are found in tropical oceans, which secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.
Seaweeds are algae and are classified into brown, red, and also green algae which is based on their pigment composition. Seaweeds are most often mistaken with other photosynthetic organisms. Seaweeds are described as plants, but biologists typically do not consider them true Plantae.
They should not be confused with plants, such as seagrasses. In addition, a few species of cyanobacteria bear a resemblance to seaweed algae. Many phycologists prefer the term “marine macroalgae” over “seaweeds”. The ecology of seaweeds is dominated by two specific environmental requirements. These are the presence of sea-water (or at least brackish water) and the presence of light sufficient to drive photosynthesis.
Kelp forests occur in cold, nutrient-rich water and are among the most beautiful and biologically productive habitats that you can find in the marine environment. They are found throughout the world in shallow open coastal waters, and the larger forests are restricted to temperatures less than 20ºC, extending to both the Arctic and Antarctic Circles.
The term ‘algae’ is used for some lower plants and many, often unrelated groups of microorganisms that are able to perform photosynthesis in the water. Photosynthesis, the proccess of converting light energy into chemical energy, is performed in parts of the cell called chloroplasts. They can be found in different shapes and colours and in many different organisms. Not all these organisms are green.