I bet you think that the most important living things on the planet are humans! Us! You and me!
But guess what – we’re not.
Phytoplankton are tiny microscopic plants - algae - that form the base of the marine food chain.
The most important living things on our green planet are single cell algae. And they are the most important because they produce oxygen, more oxygen than anything else does. Human beings and most animals have to have oxygen to breathe and live. The oxygen is produced through a process called photosynthesis, where plants use sunlight, water and carbon dioxide to produce the oxygen.
Where Do Algae Live?
If you live near water, you’ve probably seen some kind of algae growing in the water. Sometimes it’s green, sometimes brown and there are even red ones. They come in all sizes, from tiny, microscopic ones called phytoplankton that float around in the water and are too small to see, to huge ones, as big as trees, called giant kelp.
Seaweed are not plants, but are algae. Not only does algae provide much of the Earth's oxygen, they also are the base for almost all marine life. Green algae (pictured) gets its color from chlorophyll.
When you walk along a river or mess around in a tide pool at the beach, you will see the algae stuck to the rocks. It’s often very slimy, so you have to step carefully. Sometimes you can see giant kelp and other seaweeds on the beach where they have washed ashore. Seaweed is a colonial algae. It is gazillions of algae clumped together to form one big “plant.”
What About the Trees and Grass?
Scientists tell us that these marine plants produce more than three quarters of all our oxygen. But you think, “What about all the trees and plants on land?” Everywhere you look, you see trees and bushes and grass growing.
Of course, they are very important too.
A map of the world shows you that there are huge areas that are barren, where nothing can grow, like the Sahara Desert and Antarctica. Very little oxygen is being produced there.
There are barren parts of the ocean too. But because the earth is made up of way more ocean than land, there is far more room for algae to grow and produce oxygen.
Now you know why algae are the most important organism on the planet. So when you see some slimy, gooshy stuff sticking to rocks, or big, old slimy seaweed, don’t go “Eeeoow! Icky!” Say “Thank You” and take a big breath of oxygen-rich air.
