- Image above, Red algae taken at 400x Mag.
Overview
Phycology is the study of Algae, which are any photosynthetic organisms that are not plants (Viridiplantae). The main groups of Algae are Cyanobacteria, Red Algae (Rhodophyta), Green Algae (Chlorophyta), and the Brown Algae (Phaeophyta). These are the groups with the most macroscopic members, as well as the ones that are most consistently photosynthetic. In the minor groups, sometimes only a single genera may be photosynthetic (Such as Chromera velia in the Apicomplexa, though this is complex), or, a single genera may be photosynthetic for only part of it’s lifecycle (see Hatena arenicola and Nephroselmis) (Oborník, Miroslav et al. 2010, Okamoto, Noriko, and Isao Inouye, 2010). These minor groups include the Euglenophyta, Dinoflagellates (Dinophyta), Cryptophyta, Prymnesiophyta, and many groups within the Heterokontophyta, including the previously mentioned Phaeophyta (Lee, Robert Edward, 2008).
Image by Adl et al. (2012), from Ponce, Rafael & Lopez-Garcia, Purificacion & Moreira, David. (2019). Horizontal and endosymbiotic gene transfer in early plastid evolution. New Phytologist. 224. 10.1111/nph.15965.
Algae are an inherently polyphyletic group, meaning that that not everything that is called an Alga (singular form of Algae)
Chlorophyte on seep, Conanicut Island, Jamestown, Rhode Island, 24 June, 2024.
Phycology in Rhode Island.
Phycology is an amazing hobby, as it can practiced basically anywhere there is enough water to sustain life. Algae can grow in the bleakest puddles (Wang, Yuyao, et al, 2024), in the snow on top of mountains (, or even inside of rock in Antarctica (Mergelov, Nikita, 2020), and their collection and study can be inexpensive.
In Rhode Island, the Coastline is easily accessible to essentially everyone in the state,
Rhode Island Naturalism 