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Phycology () is the scientific study of algae. Also known as algology, phycology is a branch of life science.
Algae are important as primary producers in aquatic . Most algae are eukaryote, photosynthesis organisms that live in a wet environment. They are distinguished from the higher plants by a lack of true , stems or leaf. They do not produce flowers. Many species are single-celled and microscopic (including phytoplankton and other microalgae); many others are multicellular to one degree or another, some of these growing to large size (for example, seaweeds such as kelp and Sargassum).
A number of microscopic algae also occur as symbionts in .
Phycologists typically focus on either freshwater or ocean algae, and further within those areas, either diatoms or soft algae.
It was in the late 19th and early 20th century, that phycology became a recognized field of its own. Men such as Friedrich Traugott Kützing continued the descriptive work. In Japan, beginning in 1889, Kintarô Okamura not only provided detailed descriptions of Japanese coastal algae, he also provided comprehensive analysis of their distribution.Tokida, Jun and Hirose, Hiroyuki (1975) Advance of Phycology in Japan Junk, The Hague, Netherlands, page 241, Although R. K. Greville published his Algae Britannicae as early as 1830, it was not until 1902 with the publication of A Catalogue of the British Marine AlgaeBatters, Edward Arthur Lionel (1902) A catalogue of the British Marine Algae being a list of all the species of seaweeds known to occur on the shores of the British Islands, with the localities where they are found Newman, London, , published as a supplement to Journal of Botany, British and Foreign by Edward Arthur Lionel Batters that the systematic correlation of records, extensive distribution mapping and the development of identification keys began in earnest. In 1899–1900, Anna Weber-Van Bosse, a Dutch Phycologist travelled on the Siboga expedition and later in 1904, published The Corallinaceae of the Siboga-expedition.
As early as 1803 Jean Pierre Étienne Vaucher had published on the Isogamy in the algae, but it was in the early 20th century that reproduction and development began to be extensively studied. The 1935 and 1945 comprehensive volumes of Felix Eugen Fritsch consolidated what was then known about the morphology and reproduction of the algae. This was followed in the 1950s by the development of area checklists, led by Mary Parke with her 1931 Manx Algae and followed in 1953 by her "A preliminary check-list of British marine algae"Parke, Mary W. (1953) "A preliminary check-list of British marine algae" Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 32(2): pp. 497–520; revised and corrected through the third revision of 1976 Although Lily Newton's 1931 HandbookNewton, Lily (1931) A Handbook of the British Seaweeds British Museum, London provided the first identification key for the algae of the British Isles, it was the 1960s before the development of such keys became routine. The 1980s with the new emphasis on ecologyWalter, Heinrich and Breckle, Siegmar-Walter (1983) Ökologie der Erde: : Geo-Biosphäre: Band 1, Ökologische Grundlagen in globaler Sicht ( Ecology of the Earth: the geobiosphere: Volume 1, Ecological principles in a global perspective) Fischer, Stuttgart, Germany, ; in German saw increased study of algal communities, and the place of algae in larger plant communities, and provided an additional tool for explaining geographical variation.Stevenson, R. Jan; Bothwell, Max L. and Lowe, Rex L. (1996) Algal ecology: freshwater benthic ecosystems Academic Press, San Diego, California, page 23, Figueiras, F. G.; Picher, G. C. and Estrada, M. (2008) "Chapter 10: Harmful Algal Bloom Dynamics in Relation to Physical Processes" page 130 In Granéli, E. and Turner, J. T. (2008) Ecology of Harmful Algae Springer, Berlin, pp. 127–138,
The continent with the richest diversity of seaweeds is Australia, which has 2,000 species.
There are initial indicators that microalgae are renewable, sustainable, and economical sources of bioactive medicinal products, and food ingredients. Several species have been studied for their pharmacological qualities.
Additionally, as biofuels, microalgae are a potential substitute to liquid fossil fuels with respect to cost and provide greater benefits relative to environmental concerns. Microalgae have a significant ability to convert atmospheric CO2 to useful products such as carbohydrates, lipids, and other bioactive metabolites.
By August 2020, it was estimated that communities in the United States paid nearly 1 billion dollars over the preceding decade combating harmful algae blooms (HAB). To defend against this, the US regularly commits research funding for phycological studies particularly as it pertains to the management of Harmful Algae Blooms through NOAA and other agencies.
In 2023, private phycological research funding had reached nearly 1 billion USD showing the great interest in private-sector development for algae-based technology solutions. In the years 2014-2023, the EU invested approximately 600 million EUR into various phycological research interests.
With the proliferation of new avenues of study, the field of phycology is growing to provide solutions to many areas of technological, biological and environmental problems.
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