Seaweed questions?

Question

i have a few questions to ask about seaweed. My teacher has given the class individual assignments and mine is on seaweed. i am having trouble for two questions:

Why are algae considered the ‘producers’ of the sea?

and

Red seaweed is often smaller than the green and brown seaweeds, can you suggest a reason why? What other structural differences were there between red seaweed and the other colours?

Answer 1

Producers change carbon dioxide gas into energy-storage compounds (food for consumers).  At the lowest levels of the ocean food chain, you will find algae.  For instance, look up krill (not an algae) in a book or online.  What is above it in the foodchain?  What is below it?

Rhodophyta is red.  Have you learned how the colours you see are only those reflected by the object, and all other wavelengths of light are thus absorbed by said object?  Red is reflected from red algae- so it absorbs blue light.  How far down does blue light penetrate in the ocean?  Red light?

Consider where each algae is found and the circumstances under which it grows.

Good luck.

(Sorry about the lack of concrete answers, but I find researching algae to be quite a bit of fun- and I don't want you to miss out.)  Cheers!